Podcasts about green sports alliance

THE KELLY FILE:Michael Kelly is the vice president for athletics at the University of South Florida, leading a transformative vision for USF Athletics that focuses on enhancing the student-athlete experience, fostering community engagement, and developing elite athletic facilities.Since joining USF in 2018, Kelly has nearly doubled the department's budget to $100 million and secured more than $100 million in philanthropic gifts. He has overseen major facility projects, including plans for the new $340 million on-campus stadium and training center set to open in 2027, the $22 million Porter Family Indoor Performance Facility, and a $3 million football locker room renovation.Under his leadership, USF Athletics has expanded to 21 varsity sports with the addition of women's lacrosse and beach volleyball. During Kelly's tenure, the Bulls have captured 20 American Athletic Conference team championships, two divisional titles, two NCAA championships, eight cheer national championships, and one cheer World Cup, while 27 student-athletes have been named All-Americans. USF student-athletes have excelled academically, maintaining a 3.0 GPA or higher for 20 consecutive semesters.Kelly has prioritized student-athlete well-being by enhancing the nutrition program, adding multiple fueling stations and free breakfasts, and doubling the sports psychology program to support mental health. He established USF's NIL Strategy Unit to provide resources for student-athletes to maximize their opportunities and remain competitive at the highest levels. He also launched the Bulls+ Awards (Alston Awards) to reward academic achievement and founded the Stampede for Women initiative to empower female student-athletes. Additionally, he led USF's membership in the Green Sports Alliance to advance sustainability across athletic facilities.To increase USF's visibility, Kelly directed the construction of a $2 million broadcast facility. This facility enables the live streaming of more than 160 events annually on ESPN+, the most in the American Athletic Conference. The facility also serves as an educational resource for USF students and reflects Kelly's commitment to innovation, excellence, and equity in college athletics. Before returning to USF, Kelly served as the chief operating officer of the College Football Playoff, held leadership roles with the Atlantic Coast Conference, and directed Super Bowl host committees in Jacksonville, Tampa, and South Florida. Earlier in his career, Kelly served as USF's associate athletic director for development and external relations, as director of athletic operations and facilities at Wake Forest University, and as executive director of the 1999 Men's Basketball Final Four Organizing Committee, held at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. In addition to his role at USF, Kelly serves in numerous NCAA leadership capacities, including the Division I Council and Sports Oversight Committee.A founding board member of the Collegiate Event and Facilities Management Association, he also serves on the Board of Trustees for St. John's College High School in Washington, D.C.; the President's Board of Advisors at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens; the Board of Directors and Executive Committee for the Tampa Bay Sports Commission; and the Executive Committee of the Gasparilla Bowl.CHECK OUT - GOSFBULLS.COM FOLLOW ME: X - JWMediaDCIG - jimwilliams200COLUMNS https://athlonsports.com/author/jim-williams PODCAST Podcast Stream On with Jim Williams On Apple, Spotify, iHeartradio, TuneIn, Spreaker, or wherever you get your podcasts.If you are a cord cutter, you need to check out Sling TV. You want sports? Sling has it. How about news and entertainment?Once again, it's Sling.Check out Sling TV. www.sling.com Need a computer? We highly recommend you check out our friends at AAAPC in the link below. https://www.ebay.com/itm/335762770305Tell them you heard about them at Stream On with Jim Williams.Follow my social media X - JWMediaDC IG - jimwiliams200

The Green Impact Report Quick take: Packaging and sustainability expert Tom shares how AI and smart technology are transforming recycling and landfill diversion efforts in stadiums, universities, and corporate buildings – creating a more engaging path to sustainability for the next generation. Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion  Thomas (Tom) Grinnan is a Global executive and consultant who thrives in new markets, leveraging 25+ years in the Pharmaceutical, Life Science & Packaging industries. With a strong background in sustainable packaging innovation, he's now leading DC1 as CEO, where they develop AI-powered solutions to drive recycling and reduce landfill waste. At DC1, Tom is focusing on landfill diversion through innovative technology that makes recycling more accessible, measurable, and engaging for users while providing valuable sustainability metrics for organizations. Tom began his career in strategic planning after studying French and biology at the University of Virginia. His multilingual skills (fluent in French with knowledge of Spanish, Japanese, and German) helped him develop a niche in cross-border market expansion. Throughout his career, Tom has grown businesses by 15%+ annually through strategic innovation and mentoring. Prior to joining DC1 in March 2024, he worked with major corporations like Midwest, Faco, Westrock, and Silgan, where he gained firsthand experience in sustainable manufacturing practices that reuse resources and minimize environmental impact.

Climate Careers returns with an episode that proves sustainability leadership can emerge from unexpected places. Today's spotlight falls on Eric Distler, whose remarkable 13-year sustainability journey began not in environmental studies, but in finance and accounting. Now overseeing sustainability initiatives at entertainment powerhouse AEG, Eric's path weaves through influential roles at Nike and the Green Sports Alliance, where he pioneered green solutions in high-visibility industries that reach millions.Hosted by Voiz Academy's Head of Marketing and Co-founder Anita Kelava, this episode unpacks how entertainment venues, sporting events, and cultural gatherings can become powerful platforms for environmental messaging and operational excellence.

Sustainability is for the Birds. And the Dolphins. And the Niners. Even the Browns can go green! On this week’s episode of ESG Currents, BI Senior ESG Analyst Rob Du Boff chats with Roger McClendon, executive director of the Green Sports Alliance, and Norman Vossschulte, vice president of sustainability for the Philadelphia Eagles, about what franchises and venues are doing to implement sustainability in their gameplan and tackle important social issues. This episode was recorded on Jan. 13.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Send us a textIn our first episode of 2025, we discuss sports and sustainability with Danielle Doza, the Cleveland Cavaliers' Vice President of Sustainability and Environmental Services. As the first executive-level professional in the NBA, Danielle shares how the CAVS organization integrates award-winning eco-friendly practices in fresh and exciting new ways and the collaborative spirit driving sustainability within sports organizations. Join us as Danielle speaks about her dream job and key initiatives at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. These initiatives, including recycling, energy efficiency, education, and various partnerships with WM, Found Surface, and the Green Sports Alliance, drive sustainability in the sports industry. Finally, Danielle offers valuable career advice for aspiring sustainability professionals in our tip time. This episode is a must-listen for anyone eager to see sustainability thrive in sports.Guest:Danielle Doza, Vice President of Sustainability and Environmental Services with Cleveland Cavaliers (Rock Entertainment Group)Learn More:CAVS sustainability initiativesPartnership with Waste Management (WM) Green Sports Alliance GOAL (Green Operations and Advanced Leadership) Follow us: https://www.facebook.com/ecospeaksclehttps://www.instagram.com/ecospeakscleContact us:hello@ecospeakscle.com

In this episode, Chris, David and Mark speak with Aileen McManamon, Chair of the Green Sports Alliance and Founder of 5T Sports Group, and Eric Levine, Co-Founder of Count Us In, about the role of sustainability in sports. From how professional sports teams are approaching sustainability to the opportunities to leverage cultural capital of sport to drive more sustainable living and behavior change, this is a fascinating and wide-ranging conversation not to be missed.

Erik Distler is responsible for overseeing AEG Sustainability, the organization's corporate sustainability program. In this capacity, he focuses on global strategies and tactics that address operational impacts and capture and measure data across key environmental metrics, such as greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, and waste reduction. He also supports AEG's global business units in the implementation and execution of sustainability initiatives, manages external partnerships related to sustainability, facilitates the sharing of best practices, and ensures that sustainability is a source of value across the company. Distler has worked at the intersection of environmental and social responsibility in sports and entertainment for more than ten years. Before joining AEG, he built and led the sports-focused sustainability strategy and program at Nike. Prior to Nike, he was with the Green Sports Alliance where he oversaw relationships with corporate partners, live entertainment events, professional sports leagues and clubs, sports governing bodies, and collegiate schools and conferences, as well as working extensively with ESPN. He also spent time as a sustainability consultant with PwC. Distler began his career in accounting and finance, where he worked for Deloitte and The Siegfried Group LLP for the first seven years of his career. He received his Master of Public Administration (MPA) in Sustainable Management from Presidio Graduate School and his Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from Iowa State University, graduating with Honors and High Distinction.. Erik Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss: How AEG manages sustainability at large events like music festivals Piloting initiatives at smaller events to apply learnings and replicate at larger events Incorporating reusable materials at events in partnership with Our World Advice and recommendations for sustainability professionals Erik's Final Five Questions Responses: What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers? I would say have as many conversations as you can. Sustainability departments are often departments and functions that are in service to the business. We tend to operate as internal consultants. So how can we be everywhere at the same time? How can we ensure that every part of the business has the opportunity to build sustainability into their work? How do we consult to provide subject matter expertise to the business? The work we do within the department is measurement and data and setting sustainability targets and all that kind of exists within our function. But it all starts with having conversations. I wouldn't be afraid to sit down with someone and ask them more questions than provide statements on how they feel, how they perceive sustainability, where they feel as though it's working, where it's not working, what can we do more of that really helped build out our sustainability strategy. Do a little bit of a needs assessment on what stakeholders and partners value. The only other thing I'd say too secondary is, don't be afraid to start somewhere. I think we often feel as though the challenges we're up against are audacious and global and all encompassing, and they are. It can sometimes feel like we're out at sea against a massive challenge on our own  when we think of climate issues. That can freeze one up. It can stifle movement. You can feel like, "well, what can I do? I can't possibly make a difference." It's amazing what just taking one small step can lead to. There's been this kind of backlash against incrementalism in the space, like we need big changes, not incremental changes, but I don't know that I agree with that. I think an incremental quick change that you can grow on and iterate from can turn into something very big. So don't be afraid to start somewhere. Start with something that you can measure, for sure. But have those conversations and turn those small steps into big steps. What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability? There's a lot to be excited about. When realizing the gravity of the issue that we're facing, I think it's important to find sources of encouragement and hopefulness. There's really no other way. There's a line by Walt Kelly from his pogo comic strip many years ago that says, “we are confronted with insurmountable opportunities.” I use that and refer to that a lot. Try to figure out what is the opportunity in front of us and be optimistic about it. I think there's an excitement around the external forces. They're becoming louder and more influential, and that's encouraging. Our fans, our partners, our sponsors, our artists and entertainers. There's more of a voice and more influence that is being laid upon us and expected from us. I think collaboration is increasing cross-sector research companies that are competitive coming together in a pre-competitive way. Higher education institutions are pulling us in to do research that will help us in our business. We're seeing a lot of that. There's also a healthy kind of push, pull and engagement among our partners and sponsors. There's that untapped space with partnerships and sponsorships where it's determining inventory and the assets and how sustainability can be valued and monetized, but the conversations that we're having with partners or potential partners around shared goals, targets, aspirations, and what we can do together to help achieve our individual sustainability goals, kind of matches up. There's a lot of energy and excitement around that. What is one book you would recommend sustainability leaders read? One is Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows. It's a book that'll retrain your brain to consider the interconnectedness of literally everything around you. And then Natural Capitalism by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins. It's that seminal book on environmental economics. What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work? I read Green Bizz, 3BL and Triple Pundit. We get a lot of resources from our longtime partner, Schneider Electric. We've worked with them for many years and they have webinars and lots of sessions and thought leadership that we use a lot. I also keep up on the guidance from the GHG protocol, the EPA, the UN. In our space in particular, there are two organizations that are co- holding up the movement, Green Sports Alliance on the sports side and a more newly formed music sustainability alliance on the music side. We look to these two entities to hold and convene us, and there's a lot of good research and thinking coming out of those orgs as well. Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the work being done at AEG? Our website, aegworldwide.com. There's an About Us dropdown at the top, and we have a somewhat newly revamped sustainability page and more changes coming. We're building out a microsite off that page when we have our next generation sustainability goals finalized. We'll have all that good stuff up there. We also have case studies or what we call sustainability stories up on that page. Also under About Us, you can read about our social impact and DEI functions as well. We have a Twitter account, we recently rebranded it from AEG One Earth to the handle, @AEGSustain or the account name, AEG sustainability. We're trying to get information up there. And of course, LinkedIn is a great place to reach out to myself or anyone from our sustainability team.

Stadiums are high-leverage anchor venues for developing reuse ecosystems in metro areas. With around 350 million fans attending sports and other large-venue events each year in the US—and using approximately 3 billion single-use items—the social and business cases for shifting to reuse are becoming increasingly clear. The Green Sports Alliance has worked with key venues and implementation partners to create the new Reuse Playbook, launching in June 2024—to share best practices, key considerations, inspiration, and lessons learned for anyone looking to make reuse happen at scale in their cities. Listen in to learn more from Michael Kraus of Green Sports Alliance, Brittany Saulsbury of the Portland Trail Blazers, and Jocelyn Quarrell of Bold Reuse.Resources: Green Sports Alliance PlaybooksPortland Trail Blazers/Rip City ReuseBold ReuseEpisode 156: Reuse RockstarsEpisode 81: Reuse for the Win! Reducing Waste in SportsIndisposable Live: Reuse Wins at Events

Jay Kapoor is combining venture capital and storytelling to help visionary founders achieve maximum impact. Jay noticed that while it was easier than ever to start a business, that made it harder than ever for individual companies to get noticed. How could founders get the world to see their unique vision for a better future? The answer was simple, but not easy – tell a compelling story. So, he and co-founder Vijay Chattha created VSC Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage climate tech and automation startups, using the power of storytelling to help them stand out. Hear Jay talk about the importance of curiosity and empathy, what the NFL's international games can teach us about growing a brand, and why every good business starts with a really good story. As you'll hear, we had so much fun talking with Jay, we convinced him to do a second episode, so stick around for part two next week. Episode Highlights:00:00 Jay Kapoor on the importance of asking “Why now?” in storytelling 00:52 Conor Gaughan introduces Jay Kapoor and VSC Ventures06:37 Multicultural background and perspective on sustainability23:23 Finance, NFL Europe, and marketing funnels31:31 The idea for VSC Ventures and crafting a good pitch44:53 Optimism, return on investment, and defining impact54:03 What's next – part two of our conversation 56:38 End credits More on VSC Ventures and Jay Kapoor:vscventures.com/portfolio linkedin.com/company/vsc-ventures/ linkedin.com/in/jaykapoor/ OR twitter.com/JayKapoorNYC Jay's podcast: CLIMB by VSCConnect with Conor Gaughan on linkedin.com/in/ckgone and instagram.com/ckgone Here's the link to Joseph Campbell's book, which both Conor and Jay mention: The Hero With A Thousand Faces.If you liked this episode, listen next to Matt Rogers of Mill Industries on Food Waste, Impactful Product Design, and InnovationAlso check out these episodes featuring folks Jay and Conor mentioned in their conversation:Rick Fox of Partanna on Sustainable Construction and Creating Winning TeamsRoger McClendon of Green Sports Alliance on Green Sports Day and Sustainability In SportsHave questions, or a great idea for a potential guest? Email us at CiC@consensus-digital.comIf you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify – it really makes a difference! Consensus in Conversation is a podcast by Consensus Digital Media produced in association with Reasonable Volume. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mary Harvey is an accomplished sports governance and sustainability executive with 15+ years of leading worldwide initiatives to achieve societal change and gender equity through sports. As Chief Executive of the Centre for Sport and Human Rights, Mary oversees the Centre's vision, including facilitating the deliberations of the Centre's multi-stakeholder Advisory Council, operational and financial management, stakeholder engagement, and good governance. Prior to leading the Centre of Sport and Human Rights, as a FIFA executive, Mary pushed for gender inclusion during a period of organizational reform. She also served as a sport envoy for the US State Department's Sports Diplomacy Division, and as the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Green Sports Alliance.  Mary's work has improved the empowerment of girls and women, inclusion of marginalized groups, stewardship of the environment, and achievement of health and educational objectives.  A lifelong athlete, Mary enjoyed an 8-year career with the US Women's National Soccer Team, winning the inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup in 1991 and Olympic Gold in 1996.   In this episode, we discuss: ●      Why the protection of human rights is needed in sports ●      The true heroes who are raising awareness of human rights violations in sports ●      How businesses can help push for human rights reforms through sport  Key Takeaways: ●      Awareness is where change starts. Simply put, we can't fix problems we don't know about. When we become aware of issues, like injustice or inequality, we begin to understand the need to address them. It's like a lightbulb turning on, showing us where things are going wrong. This understanding helps us take action to make things better. This is why whistleblowers are so important. Once we know about a problem and understand it, we can work together to find solutions and create a better world for everyone. ●      The importance of truly understanding a problem before trying to fix it. While this is true in each area of life, it's especially true when dealing with social problems like human rights abuses. Social problems are complicated. As Mary mentions, you need to get input from every perspective,  think very carefully about what you're trying to do, who you're trying to help, and what your collective understanding of a desired outcome is. ●      Every voice matters in the pursuit of human rights, especially for the most vulnerable among us. The movement to codify human rights in sports is new, but the truth is we need to look for how to protect human rights in every corner of society. It is not just a moral duty but an act of humanity to ensure that every individual, irrespective of their status, feels the protection of rights, respect, and dignity. To successfully disrupt systems that allow for violations and abuses will require collective action and accountability. Every individual deserves an existence in which justice is not a privilege but a universal reality.   References: ●      The Centre for Spot and Human Rights is developing a new series produced by BBC StoryWorks Commercial Production. The series will launch in 2024 and will feature documentary-style short films exploring critical issues on the sport and human rights agenda. ●      Connect with Mary on LinkedIn ●      Centre for Sport and Human Rights ●      International Labour Organization (ILO) ●      “For the Game. For the World.” FIFA and Human Rights by John G. Ruggie ●      U.S. Center for SafeSport ●      Council on Foreign Relations page on the kafala system ●      Building and Wood Worker's International (BWI)  Connect & Share: If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading them! If this episode resonated with you, I ask you to send it to a friend. Help bring even more visibility to these leaders that are using business as a force for good! Subscribe to the Purpose and Profit newsletter to make sure you don't miss future episodes.  This podcast is for you, the listener. I'd love to hear what resonated with you, or if you have a suggestion on who would be a great guest for this show. Please send me a note at info@KathyVarol.com. 

Today, Oct. 6th, is the 8th annual Green Sports Day, so it only felt right to rerun our episode with Roger McClendon, executive director of the Green Sports Alliance (GSA). After all, Roger and the GSA are an instrumental part in promoting Green Sports Day – where the global sports community works together to encourage sustainable action, raise environmental awareness, and celebrate the positive impact sports can have – across the globe. Learn more about #GreenSportsDay, at greensportsalliance.org/greensportsday/Roger is well equipped to talk about sustainability and sports: he finished as the second all-time scorer for the University of Cincinnati men's basketball's team, behind only Oscar Robertson, became Yum! Brands' first-ever Chief Sustainability Officer, and now leads the Green Sports Alliance, a national non-profit organization promoting sustainability and health in sports. Roger's talent and leadership has taken him from hardwood courts to boardrooms, leaving behind a trail of success and positive impact. And it's no different at the Green Sports Alliance, which continues to scale and find new ways to make a positive impact for communities nationwide. Even if you've listened before, it's worth another one– Roger brings a wealth of wisdom to the table. Happy Green Sports Day! Time Stamps!0:00: Cold open || 0:34: Intro on Green Sports Day, Roger, and GSA || 2:30 Background and basketball || 6:53: Early career and Yum! Brands || 13:35 Roger's “F squared C squared” approach || 16:48: Green Sports Alliance || 19:02: The origin of GSA || 21:22: Stakeholders: sports leagues and more || 25:24: Sports, community, and collaboration || 27:08: The power of fan participation || 30:35: Motivation, the future, and what's next || 31:52: Roger on Green Sports Day || 32:26: Final, inspirational words || 33:14: End Credits ||More Resources:Green Sports Alliance Linktr.eeRoger's LinkedInConnect with Conor Gaughan on LinkedIn (@ckgone). See you next week! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of Sustainably Speaking, we're discussing how the world of sports and entertainment can become more sustainable. We're joined by Head of Sustainability for the Atlanta Hawks Basketball Team Sofi Armenakian who helped the Hawks' State Farm Stadium become the first sports and live entertainment venue in the world to receive TRUE (Total Resource Use and Efficiency) platinum certification.

On the next episode of Sustainably Speaking, we're revealing how the world of sports and entertainment can become more sustainable. We're joined by Head of Sustainability for the Atlanta Hawks Basketball Team Sofi Armenakian who helped the Hawks' State Farm Stadium become the first sports and live entertainment venue in the world to receive TRUE (Total Resource Use and Efficiency) platinum certification.

Sports have tremendous influence and impact on many facets of society, including the environment. The potential to turn the sports industry into a powerful driver of sustainability led to the formation of the Green Sports Alliance in 2010. Over a decade later, its member teams, leagues, venues, and businesses are creating change, as discussed in this episode with Dune Ives, the organization's co-founder and board member. Dune explains how the Green Sports Alliance was initially focused on energy and waste, but that water is now becoming a more prominent issue. She talks about a new playbook that aims to help venues improve water management and the opportunities for the water and sports industries to deepen collaboration. This episode is supported by Open Water, the ultra-purified, electrolyte-packed water canned in the U.S. in BPA-free aluminum packaging. Learn more at drinkopenwater.comwaterloop is a nonprofit media outlet. Visit waterloop.org

  Jeff Stewart is a Senior Energy Manager – Existing Buildings and is responsible for energy audits, LEED O+M engineering, ENERGY STAR benchmarking and certification, and city/state benchmarking ordinances. He has extensive experience in the commercial HVAC industry and ten (10) years of experience working on projects seeking LEED certification.    Prior to working for SIG, Jeff worked for an Atlanta-based HVAC design engineering firm using AutoCAD to design and model commercial HVAC systems for single office and high-rise office buildings, including the Delta Dental building and First Data Center in Atlanta, GA.    Jeff has experience working with many different building types, including office buildings, tenant spaces, data centers, multifamily properties, convention centers, and sports stadiums. In 2021, Jeff and the SIG ENERGY STAR team completed 510 ENERGY STAR labels consisting of over 148M GSF. He has been instrumental in SIG being awarded the EPA's ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence award every year since 2016.   Show Highlights   Applying a holistic approach to the green building movement by focusing on both design and impact. The Green Sports Alliance connects great sustainable standards.  Hear tips about that and Geocaching. Tips for someone trying to apply LEED for existing buildings to something besides an office building from an energy store portfolio manager expert.  LEED is a platform for benchmarking how you're building, how your structure operates, and impacts the world around it regardless of what the building is being used for.  Benchmark your energy and water data to make improvements from that to achieve your desired certification. Mix and match credits to ensure you are operating at peak efficiency to get LEED certification for your project.  Understanding the big push for mixed use developments for your clients.    “I would say it's considered a long game [your green building career]. If you're about to make a decision or buy something or move somewhere, consider a few things that would happen in the long term. If you move to Atlanta, do you plan to stay in Atlanta for five years or is this a temporary approach? Think about two or three things that could impact in the long term and that can help you make a better decision in the short term.” -Jeffrey Stewart   Get the episode transcript here!!   Show Resource and Information Geocaching On the Market Podcast LinkedIn Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES Charlie on LinkedIn Green Building Educational Services GBES on Twitter Connect on LinkedIn Like on Facebook Google+ GBES Pinterest Pins GBES on Instagram   GBES is excited our membership community is growing. Consider joining our membership community as members are given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions. If you are preparing for an exam, there will be more assurance that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member, and so much more. Go to www.gbes.com/join to learn more about the 4 different levels of access to this one-of-a-kind career-advancing green building community!   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on iTunes.  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the Green Building Matters Podcast!   Copyright © 2023 GBES

Roger McClendon is always near the top: he finished as the second all-time scorer for the University of Cincinnati men's basketball's team, behind only Oscar Robertson, became Yum! Brands' first-ever Chief Sustainability Officer, and now leads the Green Sports Alliance, a national organization promoting sustainability in sports. Roger's talent and leadership has taken him from hardwood courts to boardrooms, leaving behind a trail of success and positive impact. Our conversation bridges his career path, the power of sports, the need for sustainability, and so much more. If you're itching for some basketball between March Madness and the NBA Playoffs, look no further: it's live on all major podcasting platforms. Listen now! More on the Green Sports Alliance and Roger:GSA's Upcoming Summit, June 26-28, 2023Green Sports Alliance Linktr.eeRoger's LinkedInEpisode Highlights:0:00: Background and Basketball5:55: Early Career and Yum! Brands11:11: Sustainability 15:49: Green Sports Alliance24:26: Sports and Community29:37: The Future Follow our host Conor on LinkedIn and Twitter to stay up to date! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vous étiez nombreux à nous demander suite aux vidéos de break énormes et disproportionnés, de surfer sur la vague pour trouver des solutions à ces montagnes de packs et donc, déchets en tout genre. Nous avons reçu Eric Meliton qui travaille dans le domaine de l'écologie et qui est collectionneur. Il a essayé de parler et il s'engage aux USA et Canada pour un hobby plus respectueux. Malgré les embuches et le peu de considération des marques ou des collectionneurs, loin des priorités pour une partie d'entre eux, il nous raconte sa vision et son combat. Retrouvez également les news, maitre magouilles et un petit sujet sur le Card Show de Lille ! Enjoy les amis, des bisous Alex, Adri & Greg. voici les références de Eric si vous voulez en savoir plus : In terms of industry references to supplement my discussion, I found the following references to be useful for more education/awareness: Green Sports Alliance - https://greensportsalliance.org/ FIFA (sustainability) - https://www.fifa.com/social-impact/sustainability MLB (sustainability) - https://www.mlb.com/mlb-community/mlb-green NBA (sustainability) - https://green.nba.com/ NFL (sustainability) - https://www.nfl.com/causes/nfl-green/ NHL (sustainability) - https://www.nhl.com/info/nhl-green Fanatics (Global Impact) - https://www.fanaticsinc.com/global-impact COMC port - https://www.comc.com/Users/CanadaWarehouse,sh,i100 Twitter (card related) - https://twitter.com/CanadaWarehouse Twitter (sustainability/environmental related) - https://twitter.com/EricMeliton LinkedIn (professional profile) - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericmeliton/

Across the world, the collective carbon emissions of sports is equal to that of a mid-size country, which makes Indianapolis – a city contending for the title of sports capital of the world – an ideal testing ground for environmentally-friendly protocols that could be scaled nationally and possibly even internationally.  To get a sense of just how massively influential sports are not just as an industry but as a platform, Jay speaks with Roger McClendon, executive director of the Green Sports Alliance. Roger informs Jay that the Alliance's sustainability work on this past year's College Football Playoff Championship saw a staggering 80% diversion rate of methane-emitting waste from landfill, while shedding light on a need for new green jobs and infrastructure capable of reusing the materials that go into live events. Susan Baughman, president of the 2022 CFP Indianapolis Host Committee, tells Jay that pulling off the most sustainable championship in the event's history was a team effort that can serve as an inspiration for other cities to recreate and improve upon. Speaking of improvements, Jay hears about how Indianapolis has been scaling its efforts year-over-year by speaking with Jessica Davis, director of the IUPUI Office of Sustainability, which serves as the boots-on-the-ground when it comes to data collection and research. Jessica explains how the 2021 March Madness tournament established a precedent for sustainable sporting events, and how each successive event is only going to raise the bar and extend the scope of emissions that the city intends to offset. Next, Jay pops over to Lucas Oil Stadium to hear from Yogi Stephens of Sodexo Live! about how vendors are deploying best practices while keeping tens of thousands of hungry fans fed.  Finally, Jay concludes his nation-wide tour at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he gets some sage advice from Penske Entertainment's first ever sustainability program leader, Logan Waddle, about how he successfully turned his passions for sports and the environment into a newly minted green job. CREDITS: Featuring: Jay Tipton, Roger McClendon, Susan Baughman, Jessica Davis, Yogi Stephens, Logan Waddle, Paula DiPernaProducer: Mike ZunicExecutive Producers: Melissa Panzer, Joan Lynch, Art BilgerWriters: Jay Tipton, Mike ZunicTalent Producer: Emily LallouzEdited and Sound Mixer: Lynz FlorenAssistant Editor: Mengfang YangMusic by: Avocado JunkieMade possible by: the Walton Family Foundation

“A mental health diagnosis is not a death sentence”. This episode is about de-stigmatizing mental health challenges and prioritizing conversations around them.In this episode, Lisa Bonta Sumii, LCSW, CSW is joined by a trailblazer in her field, Maya McClendon. Maya works as a mental health and sustainability advocate. Maya was a highly decorated volleyball player at Arizona State University and the University of Louisville. She studied pre-med and psychology. In 2021 she founded The Timeout App. Timeout as Maya says is the future of mental health care delivery for athletes. Maya and Lisa have an impactful and candid conversation about mental health and the “practice of positivity” despite the stigmas that surround it.Episode topicsIt takes courage to open up and shed light on mental health struggles.Community support and connection through mental heath struggles are critical.“Storytelling” is the first step toward mental wellness.“You can't spell listen without silent.”Coaches should be mental health allies for their student-athletes.The ideas and thoughts of black, indigenous, and people of color should be prioritized and fairly represented.Emotional intelligence is developed and is an important factor in mental wellness.“Diagnosis is not a death sentence.”Learning how to shift roles within a team while still adding value to the teamBridging the gap between the older and younger generations when it comes to understanding and relating to mental healthSuicide awareness and preventionSupport and outreach in the BIPOC communityBeing aware of “veering from a state of wellness to illness.”Physical vs. mental healthKey Episode Moment (timestamp)30:03-32:59 – Maya talks about self-care and the “day-to-day discipline” it takes to manage her mental well-being. She is an example of the fact that high-functioning people can still struggle with mental health. She details the daily practices that help her in maintaining wellness. This includes taking medication, addressing the true issues at hand, emotional intelligence, and putting mental and physical health on the same playing field.More about Maya McClendonMaya McClendon is a mental health and sustainability advocate based in Louisville, Kentucky. Maya McClendon was a highly decorated volleyball player at Arizona State University and the University of Louisville. Among her accolades, were AAC Freshman of the Year, ACC All-American, AAC Conference Champion, and ACC Conference Champion. She was also nominated as 2013 Under Armour All-American and was chosen to represent the USA Junior National team in the North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation Tournament in Nicaragua. In college, she studied Pre Medicine-psychology and graduated in 2017 before working at the University of Louisville Hospital and shadowing various specialties within the medical field. In January 2019, Maya founded the Sports Metaphor, LCC and participated in speaking engagements for the PAC12, the Green Sports Alliance, as well as various youth programs about holistic health and wellness related to sports. In 2021, she founded the Timeout App a digital health and wellness platform for athletes and sports organizations.—This is the AthMindset Podcast Series on SportsEpreneur. And it's all about mental health in sports.From Lisa: I'm Lisa Bonta Sumii and this is the AthMindset Podcast Series on SportsEpreneur. This podcast series is a space for conversations with athletes, coaches, practitioners, and stakeholders in sports. And it's where those individuals share their perspectives, experiences, and thoughts on mental health in sports. Eric Kasimov of SportsEpreneur is generously hosting the AthMindset Podcast Series on his platform as he deeply believes that these conversations are essential and deserve to be prioritized.This is the AthMindset Podcast Series on SportsEpreneur. SportsEpreneur — the content platform where sports, entrepreneurship, and mental health collide! If you are looking to start a podcast or create original content, you have to talk with the team at SportsEpreneur. I work with them and I vouch for them. It's that simple. Go to SportsE.io to learn more. Are you an athlete or entrepreneur looking to create content? Learn More.Website worth a look:SportsEpreneurKazCM Podcast ProductionAthMindset | Lisa Bonta Sumii, LCSW, CSWThe Timeout AppMore content on volleyball and athlete mental health:Patience Learned at a Girls Volleyball Practice in CharlotteSE40 | Event + Response = Outcome with Tim Kight (E+R=O) | A Podcast DiscussionAthMindset | Black Representation and Visibility in Softball with Zoe ConleyConnecting:Maya McClendon: LinkedInLisa Bonta Sumii: LinkedIn | TwitterEric Kasimov: Twitter | LinkedInSportsEpreneur: TikTok | Instagram | TwitterThat's a wrap:Thank you for listening to this AthMindset Podcast Series episode on SportsEpreneur titled, “The Timeout App and Athlete Mental Health with Maya McClendon”.Follow this podcast on Apple PodcastsFollow this podcast on SpotifyIntro Music, “escape” was provided by Pluto Tracks.Check out more from our content platform: SportsEpreneur. The platform where sports and entrepreneurship and now mental health collide!Eric KasimovThe post AthMindset | The Timeout App and Athlete Mental Health with Maya McClendon appeared first on SportsEpreneur.

It's official: Elon Musk is buying Twitter. Will he move the platform's headquarters to Austin? After a two year break for the pandemic, Travis County is set to resume its policy of publicly shaming businesses who have fallen behind on paying commercial property taxes. Alex Jones has offered to testify before the U.S. House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection, if they'll grant him immunity from prosecution. A former police sergeant in San Marcos who was involved in a traffic crash that killed a woman is trying to get his job with the San Marcos Police Department back, along with back pay since his indefinite suspension. Continued improvements to Waterloo Greenway will be financed via $9 million in new federal funding. Got chickens? Texas agriculture experts are warning of a virulent strain of bird flu that has reached Texas chicken coops. A group of Llano County residents have sued a group of local officials, accusing them of violating the U.S. Constitution in recent moves to restrict and ban books from the county's three public library branches. #10 Texas Longhorns Baseball travels to Edinburg to face UT Rio Grande Valley tonight, ahead of a 3-game Big 12 series against Oklahoma State this weekend. Circuit of the Americas will host a food drive for the Central Texas Food Bank on Sunday May 8, and supporters will have a chance to drive the track. Austin FC's Q2 Stadium is confirmed to host the Concacaf Nations League opening match between the U.S. Men's National Team and Grenada on June 10 - ticket presales for Austin FC season ticket holders start today at 1pm. Verde and Q2 have also joined the Green Sports Alliance to promote initiatives towards sustainability for team and stadium operations. And after a nice Monday soaking, rain chances slack off by mid morning, a cloudy and cool Tuesday follows with a high of 71, back into the 80's by tomorrow.

As fans return to sporting arenas and music lovers celebrate the return of concerts and festivals, sustainability issues at events and venues are coming back into focus – specifically, what to do about the ever-present disposable plastic cup.In partnership with the Green Sports Alliance, Upstream kicked off their new Indisposable Live™ series by discussing the experiences of entrepreneurs and associations wrestling with how to do reuse at events and large venues. Upstream's Chief Solutioneer/CEO, Matt Prindiville hosted special guests who are innovating solutions around single-use at large scale events including Roger McClendon from Green Sports Alliance, Michael Martin from r.Cup/r.Ware, and Ryan Everton from TURN.Tune into this lively discussion and learn more about how our guests started their businesses, their plans for the future, how they're adapting – and even thriving – during the pandemic, and how you can help bring their services to your own community.Resources:Upstream's full life-cycle analysis of reusable and single-use cups at eventsEliminating single use cups at events (vlog/blog)Aluminum cups at the Super Bowl not so super (blog)A conversation with Roger McClendon, Green Sports Alliance on the Indisposable Podcast

In this issue of Flanigan's Eco-Logic, Ted speaks with Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, an environmental scientist, founder of the Green Sports Alliance, and advisor to the Olympics and sports teams around the world. He shares his background, motivation for his work, and passion to alleviate human suffering, demonstrating the connection between greening and global issues. Dr. Hershkowitz was a solid waste expert in New York City, founded the Green Sports Alliance, and is the Environmental Science Advisor to the New York Yankees. 

Roger McClendon is the Executive Director of the Green Sports Alliance (GSA), a trade organization that convenes stakeholders from around the sporting world to promote healthy, waste-free communities where we live and play. Learn about Roger's journey from being a superstar college basketball player, to founding the Chief Sustainability Officer role at Yum Brands (parent company to KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut, among others), to focusing on sustainability for both people and planet at the GSA. Host Matt Prindiville welcomes Roger on the show to talk about the positive changes happening at sporting venues and about sustainability as an essential business strategy not only for the environment but for the bottom line.Resources:Green Sports AllianceReuse Wins at Events reportRegister for the Reuse Wins at Events livestream  (by March 23, 2022)

Green Sports Alliance - the nexus between sports and sustainability by Koolpods

Towards the end of 2020, a piece of research was published by Zoomph and Recipric highlighting the growing interest in plant-based diets from sports fans, and suggesting how professional teams could capitalise on this growing trend.When it comes to the plant-based diet and its impact on athlete performance, perhaps nothing has been quite so impactful as The Game Changers – a revealing Netflix documentary showcasing the connection between enhanced physical performance and the eradication of animal-based products.It appears that the growing plant-based revolution is an area of untapped potential for the sports industry in a couple of instances, not to mention its positive impact on the environment.In this week's podcast, we talk with James Wilks, who was behind the documentary, and Roger McClendon, executive director of the Green Sports Alliance.The Green Sports Alliance and Wilks' Game Changers Institute – a recently-established vehicle to generate research about and promote plant-based living – have partnered up, and Wilks and McClendon explain.

Brett Blumberg, is the Director of Sustainable Events & Analytics at Green Sports Alliance in San Diego, California. At Green Sports Alliance, they leverage the power of sports to drive meaningful impact by convening industry stakeholders, and engage fans, inspiring them to embrace sustainability. Brett is interviewed by our intern extraordinaire Jillian Lewandoski, recent graduate of Pace University with degrees in Sports Marketing and Arts & Entertainment Management.   Heart Stock Radio is a production of KBMF 102.5 and underwritten by Purse for the People

Dune Ives is Executive Director of the Lonely Whale Foundation, co-founded by Actor-Activist Adrian Grenier and producer Lucy Sumner.  She is the former head of Paul Allen's Vulcan Philanthropy,  where she led the $100M Global Ebola commitment and the Allen Distinguished Educators program with numerous success stories.  Dune holds a Ph.D. in Psychology, is co-founder of The Green Sports Alliance and an inaugural member of Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project.  Through her current leadership, overseeing and initiating several impact campaigns and partnerships, Lonely Whale has received global recognition as one of Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas, along with Huffington Post’s Top Ten Movers and Shakers in Environmental Sustainability.  Lonely Whale is described as an  incubator for courageous ideas that drive impactful market-based change on behalf of our ocean. Inspired by the power of community to create the change we need to ensure a healthy planet, working towards a new era of radical collaboration, facilitating the creation of innovative ideas pushing the boundaries on current trends in technology, media and advocacy that positively impact the health of our ocean.   LEARN MORE ABOUT DUNE IVES + LONELY WHALE here:    Dune Ives TEDx: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVOro7aq3sI Follow Lonely Whale on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lonelywhale/ Check out their Website: https://www.lonelywhale.org/about Connect with LW on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lonelywhale/ Connect with Dune on Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/dune-ives-5a6082b Follow Dune on Twitter: https://twitter.com/duneives 52HZ Advisory Service: https://www.lonelywhale.org/52hz Go Deeper at LW: https://www.lonelywhale.org/contact The LW Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=571y_E9O1sY   Adrian Grenier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-Gqcm75Te4 Only One, Material Change on Plastics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH3GUAvPJFw   “We choose very specifically who we work with, and the reason we choose to work with specific companies is because  they have a strong sustainability ethos and practice, they have the right people in leadership positions who can make change happen. ” - Dune Ives   TO SUGGEST A GUEST YOU CAN REACH US here: guest@ourepicocean.com or take the EPIC OCEAN CHALLENGE follow this link: https://www.ourepicocean.com/challengevid

 Erik Distler is our guest this week. He's worked for Nike and the Green Sports Alliance as well as with ESPN and many sports leagues, conferences, clubs, events, and athletes. We'll discuss how we can bring sustainability into the sports industry, how the sports industry can be a driver for environmental change, and how climate change will affect the world of sports. You can find Erik on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikdistler/) and check out the Green Sports Alliance for more information(https://greensportsalliance.org). You can find me on Instagram at @Green.and.Grind where I post episode notes and discuss sustainability topics.  Please leave a review and subscribe to podcast to get notified of new episodes! Email: greenandgrind@gmail.com

Tim serves on the executive leadership team guiding long-term social and environmental strategy for a 220+ acre campus that includes the 4M SF convention center, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the former Georgia Dome, Centennial Olympic Park, and the upcoming Hilton Signia hotel. GWCCA also operates the Savannah Convention Center in Savannah, GA. In this role, he oversees a team focused on executing day-to-day practices including waste diversion and volunteerism. Tim also helped develop and now leads the organization’s first Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) council. Tim Trefzer Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss: Managing sustainability over a large campus COVID-19's impact on the sports world and how GWCCA has given back The value of LEED certification vs. building to standards Advice and recommendations for sustainability leaders Tim's Final Five Question Responses: What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers? I'd give different advice to professionals in different stages of their careers. If I had to give one common piece of advice, it'd be to network and generate those relationships with other individuals that are in the industry, or maybe even not in the industry. When I moved to Atlanta in 2008, I met with a gentleman who is part of, at the time it was called Sustainable Atlanta, it's evolved into the city's sustainability department. The first thing he told me was, it's not about what you know, it's about who you know in this industry. I've really come to find and believe that that's true. It's really about those connections and sustainability. If you're looking for success, whether it's in a business or just personally, it's all about creating those relationships with other individuals, understanding where they're coming from and getting them speaking their language. I've really found that it's a person to person business, and generating those close relationships and that network with others has been really beneficial to me. That's where I'd say others would also benefit. What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability? You mentioned it's November and last week was the presidential election. Without getting too political, I'll say that with a Biden administration coming in, I think they will turn the trajectory of our environmental work, at least in this country, around. They, I hope will, reset some of the practices and policies that we've seen change over the last four years. Based on the plan of the Biden administration from an environmental standpoint, rejoining the Paris climate accord, setting very strong targets for the country from a carbon emission reduction standpoint, I'm excited about that. I hope that they'll have a tremendous impact on the world of sustainability, and I believe they will. What is one book you would recommend sustainability professionals read? Ray Anderson is a hometown hero in Atlanta, and his book Confessions of a Radical Industrialist, I think is a phenomenal book that any sustainability or business professional should read. Ray Anderson is the founder of Interface, the carpet manufacturing company here in Georgia. It's really just a great book looking at how business can change the world from an environmental standpoint; it can do positive good for both business from a bottom line standpoint, but business from an environmental standpoint. That book, which was written in the nineties, has come to set the standard for business. I think it's just a phenomenal book. That's probably the first of a number of books that Ray Anderson has written that I'd recommend the audience read. What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work? Some of my go-to resources: GreenBiz, Sustainable Brands. I do a lot of research in the Harvard Business Review, Bass company. One that I've found a lot of value lately has been Boston College's Center for Corporate Citizenship. They provide a lot of great work from a CSR standpoint. But going back to your first question, I think networking and creating those relationships and working with other individuals like US Green Building Council and the Green Sports Alliance, those organizations have really provided a lot of benefits. I've got a number of different resources and tools, but those are some of the ones that stand out. Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and your work at the Georgia World Congress Center Authority? You can go to our website GWCCA.org. You can also find me on LinkedIn, or on Twitter at Tim_Trefzer. Any of those would be great and I'd love to connect with your audience.

Mary Harvey is currently the CEO for the Centre of Sports and Human Rights and has dedicated herself to making sport better for athletes of every age. She enjoyed an illustrious playing career in soccer, winning the 1991 World Cup and 1996 Olympic Gold with the US Women’s National team, and since then has spent years in the corporate ranks and sport governance. She is A former senior executive at FIFA (2003-2008), where she became involved in the reform process at FIFA by launching the #WomeninFIFA campaign with Australian Moya Dodd.  The campaign was successful in achieving gender inclusion as a core tenet of the reforms passed in 2016. Mary has served as a sport envoy for the US State Department’s Sports Diplomacy Division on several occasions, including missions to Iraq, Jordan, Canada and Mexico. On these missions, the key objective was engaging key stakeholders via sport outreach to promote acceptance and integration of diverse groups. Mary also serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Green Sports Alliance, an organization dedicated to leveraging the cultural and market influence of sports to inspire sports leagues, teams, venues, their partners and millions of fans to embrace renewable energy, healthy food, recycling, water efficiency, species preservation, safer chemicals and other environmentally preferable practices. In our conversation today we discuss many of the issues in sports, such as the role of women in sport governance and the importance of investing in women's grassroots and professional sports, athlete activism and using their platform for good, the effect of COVID on children and sport, and whether this pause will revert back to the fundamental inequalities that existed pre pandemic, or whether we will be able to use this time to make important changes. There is a ton of great stuff here from a woman who has been a pioneer and trailblazer as an athlete and an executive, so buckle in. Website: https://www.sporthumanrights.org/en Podcast: https://www.sporthumanrights.org/en/resources/special-podcast-children-sport-and-covid19 Way of Champions Conference 2021 This weeks podcast is brought to you by the 2021 Way of Champions Leadership Conference, August 21-22, being held virtually this year. We have put together a lineup that is out of this world for our event, and just added Tara VanDerveer, the legendary Stanford Women's Basketball coach who just broke Pat Summits all time wins record on NCAA hoops. Other guest speakers include Steve Kerr of the Warriors, Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz, multiple time NCAA Champion coaches Anson Dorrance, Cindy Timchal, and Jenny Levy, and mindfulness expert George Mumford. Click here to learn more or register before we sell out! Become a Podcast Champion! This weeks podcast is also sponsored by our Patreon Podcast Champions. Help Support the Podcast and get FREE access to our most popular online courses, a $300 value. If you love the podcast, we would love for you to become a Podcast Champion, (https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions) for as little as a cup of coffee per month (OK, its a Venti Mocha), to help us up the ante and provide even better interviews, better sound, and an overall enhanced experience. Plus, as a $10 per month Podcast Super-Champion, you will have access to never before released and bonus material, including: Downloadable transcripts of our best podcasts, so you don’t have to crash your car trying to take notes! A code to get free access to our online course called “Coaching Mastery,” usually a $97 course, plus four other courses worth over $100, all yours for free for becoming a patron. Other special bonus opportunities that come up time to time Access to an online community of coaches like you who are dedicated listeners of the podcast, and will be able to answer your questions and share their coaching experiences. Thank you for all your support these past four years, and a special big thank you to all of you who become part of our inner circle, our patrons, who will enable us to take our podcast to the next level. https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions

This episode is cohosted with Beth Knox, President of the Seattle Sports Commission and a board member of Circlewood, the parent organization of this podcast. Together we talk to Roger McClendon, Executive Director of the Green Sports Alliance—an organization that leverages the influence of sports to promote healthy, sustainable communities. According to Roger, sports has the power to unify people, and even to help them have common vision to engage big issues like climate change.Notes:Guest: Roger McClendon - Green Sports Alliance Cohost: Beth Knox - Circlewood board member and President of the Seattle Sports Commission TV show - Wild Kingdom Cuyahoga river catching fire Flint, MI water crisis United Nations sustainable development goals Nelson Mandela quote - "sport has the power to change the world": Clean Water Act - 1970's MLB - changing lightbulbs; PlanLED - changing lights in Safeco Field ESPN network's ESPY awardsmethane produced by food waste in landfills bioplastics Tesla - focusing on performance, but creating best electric vehicles Apartheid in S. Africa - 1980's boycott of gas companies that supported Apartheid Super Bowl 2021 - NFL Green Mohammed Ali - refused the draft and lost his title Colin Kaeperknick - kneeling protest George Floyd's death Ahmaud Arbery's death Breonna Taylor's death Lebron James' talking about Black Lives Matter Environmental Justice - correlation between areas of lower socio-economic status and rates of environmental pollution ESG - enviromental-social governance BlackRock - ESG investing "3 pandemics" - COVID-19, climate change and institutional racism Dr. Jo

In June this year, the Green Sports Alliance was meant to be celebrating its 10-year anniversary at its annual summit, this time hosted in Minneapolis. But, like so many events occurring in 2020, the gathering was curtailed by the Covid-19 crisis.The world – and the US in particular – is a different place and, in many ways, the remit of the Green Sports Alliance has grown as a result.While its original raison d'être revolved around the greening of teams and leagues it's associated with (the organisation has more than 300 members), the coronavirus pandemic and the racial and social injustice coming to light in the US has presented other challenges for the American sports industry.And although environmental responsibility remains one of its key pillars, the Alliance has established its ‘Ready to play' initiative, which has been designed to help its members put health and safety of fans and athletes first amid Covid, and is becoming more vocal about social justice.This week, we talk with Roger McClendon, the Green Sports Alliance's executive director. During the episode, he discusses what he terms as the “three pandemics” of coronavirus, climate change and social injustice, and talks about how sport can have a positive impact on all three. He explains:How the Alliance is helping its members get prepared for life after CovidWhy sport is well placed to educate around social and racial injusticeWhat Green Sports Alliance members are doing to protect the environment

Since accelerated progress toward American Purpose will require a cultural shift, America's passion for sport at all levels provides a huge opportunity to harness its power to make that shift.  In this episode we talk with Scott Jenkins who has managed numerous professional sports stadiums across America who also leads the Green Sports Alliance, a collaboration of teams and leagues working to have sports lead that cultural shift.  Listen to Scott's story about the emerging opportunity that sports presents, the early progress, the importance of sustainability science, the threat of greenwashing, and how consumers and youth are demanding that the sports organizations make more progress sooner.

Join us as we spend time with Scott Jenkins, GM of Mercedes Benz Stadium and Chair of the Green Sports Alliance, Chris Castro Director of Sustainability and Resilience for the City of Orlando, and Terry Cecil CEO & Chief Sustainability Officer for the International Sponsor Council and Sponsor Advocate for the Smart City Expo. We discuss how the future of sports and venues are intertwined with smart cities where you can live, work, play and learn. It's about going beyond being green or net carbon neutral. Teams are engaging communities to address; housing, education, health & wellness, energy, nutrition & food systems, transportation, 5g connectivity, data and so much more.

The Sustainable Nation Podcast interviews three people involved in the work to bring sustainability to the College Football Playoffs:  Roger McClendon – Executive director green sports alliance Brett Blumberg Director of Sustainable Events & Analytics Ryan Hall - Director of Community Relations at College Football Playoff Through its Playoff Green initiative, the College Football Playoff strives to minimize the environmental footprint of the national championship game and its ancillary activities. An additional objective of Playoff Green is to create a positive, lasting “green” legacy in each CFP National Championship host community. This past year, the comprehensive approach to sustainability included recycling, food recovery, waste management and other sustainable strategies throughout the event in New Orleans.

In the first episode of the second series, The Sustainability Report talks to Scott Jenkins – one of the founders of the green sports movement in the US.Throughout his career working on the operational side of sports management, Jenkins has made it his mission to make the stadiums he has been responsible for as sustainable as possible, and leverage that innovation to engage with fans and other important stakeholders.After spending time at Philadelphia Eagles' Lincoln Financial Field and Safeco Field of the Seattle Mariners, Jenkins now oversees operations at the newly-build Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta – one of the most sustainable stadiums in the world with the highest number of LEED points for a building of its type.The Sustainability Report sits down with Jenkins the day after Super Bowl LIV in Miami, the biggest event in the US sporting calendar. It was a game that the Mercedes-Benz Stadium hosted the year before, and Jenkins talks about the high-profile showpiece as a great opportunity to engage the public in the topic of social and environmental responsibility.During the episode, he discusses the work that went into creating a LEED Platinum stadium, the changing attitudes of fans and sponsors and how they are presenting the sports industry with new opportunities and challeneges, and the priorities of the Green Sports Alliance – an organisation that he chairs.“Everything about the Mercedes-Benz Stadium was done to redefine the stadium experience,” he says. “Whether it's the food and beverage programme, the security process or going cashless at concessions. The architecture is stunning, the technology in the building is the best in the world.“Everything we've tried to do is redefine what it means to the fans and bring it up another notch. And our focus on sustainability was no different.”

Playing for Change: How the Green Sports Alliance Mobilizes Sports Fans 16 leagues. 194 teams. 195 venues. Members of the Green Sports Alliance embrace renewable energy, healthy food, recycling, water efficiency, safer chemicals and other environmentally preferable practices—and they inspire millions of fans to follow their lead. The Alliance believes that the sports industry is uniquely positioned to make large-scale impact in the environmental performance of many of the world's largest public spaces. It also believes that sport teams place a special role in influencing citizens and mobilizing communities to action.  To find out more about how the Alliance leverages the cultural and market influence of sports to promote sustainable practices, Bard MBA student Kristin Hanczor spoke with Roger McClendon, the organization's Executive Director. McClendon joined the Alliance just over a year ago, after serving as the first ever Chief Sustainability Officer for Yum! Brands, whose holdings include Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC. He and Kristin also spoke about McClendon's own career journey and his decision to switch to the relatively niche world of green sports.  

Just under a year ago, the Bahraini footballer Hakeem al-Araibi stepped off an aircraft – which flew from his adopted home Australia to Bangkok in Thailand – to celebrate his honeymoon. Before he could reach the terminal building, he was picked up by Interpol and thrown in a Thai prison, on the authority of the Bahrain government, for speaking out against the alleged persecution of footballers at the hands of the ruling regime during the 2011 uprising.A few weeks later, Mary Harvey was unveiled as the first chief executive of the Centre for Sport and Human Rights, walking into an organisation that was at the heart of an extraordinary story that was being played out on the world stage – despite that fact that is was a few months old.It was a baptism of fire for Harvey, who was a World Cup winner and Olympic gold medallist with the USA Women's Team in the 90s. But her work in mobilising a movement – which included FIFA and the players' union, lead courageously by former Australia captain Craig Foster – saw the safe release of al-Araibi back to Australia (where he had refugee status) in February 2019.During this episode of The Sustainability Report Podcast, Harvey will talk about the experience, which occurred during the first few weeks of her tenure, and explain why the creation of the Centre for Sport and Human Rights is crucial for the future of the sporting events industry.The Green Sports Alliance board member will also discuss her role in bringing the 2026 World Cup to the US, Mexico and Canada after playing a significant part in the development of the bid's human rights and sustainability strategy.

From stadiums packed with fans, to food, beer, and waste – pro sports can have a big carbon footprint. But could the core values of athletics — integrity, teamwork, and commitment — be the same values we need to tackle the climate challenge? ”Doing sports the right way is more important now than ever,” says Jim Thompson, Founder of the Positive Coaching Alliance. “We spent a lot of time as adults trying to get kids to do certain things. What if we spend our time trying to encourage them to become the kind of people who want to do the right thing?” Thompson, whose PCA trains youth sports coaches around the country, is a newly converted climate evangelist. “Our country, the whole world is gonna need leaders – people who do the right thing when it matters,” he says. “That's my definition of character, when you do the right thing when it matters, and what happens in the next 10 years matters a lot.” So do pro athletes have a special role in getting their fans and teams to talk about climate? “I think somebody needs to prompt the questions out of them, because I don't think most people aren’t going to just come out and just start talking about climate change,” says Dusty Baker, a special advisor with the San Francisco Giants who had a 19-year career as a hard-hitting outfielder and a 20-year career as a big-league manager. Baker, who is also an avid bird hunter and solar power entrepreneur, admires the star athletes who do speak out on climate or other social issues, but he understands why others may be reluctant to do so. “You spend all your life trying to get to this goal” he explains,”and you realize it's a very limited period of time and also there's somebody always trying to take your job.” Ultimately, the best agents for climate action in the sports arena might be the businesses and the customers – that is, teams and their fans. “Through sport and food we have a huge opportunity to influence the world in a positive way,” says Roger McClendon, Executive Director with the Green Sports Alliance, an association of teams and venues employing sports as a vehicle to promote healthy sustainable communities throughout the world. McClendon previously served as the first chief sustainability officer with Yum! Brands, whose holdings include Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants, where he challenged the company to run cleaner. “[Pro teams] are businesses but they have the responsibility to serve their consumers and their consumers are fans,” he says. “When the fans or the customers start saying this is important to them, then usually businesses start to listen. Guests: Dusty Baker, Special Advisor, San Francisco Giants Roger McClendon, Executive Director, Green Sports Alliance Jim Thompson, Founder, Positive Coaching Alliance. Related links: Positive Coaching Alliance Baker Energy Team Green Sports Alliance NBA Green How climate change is affecting outdoor skating (NHL.com) San Francisco Giants reclaim the Green Glove Award (MLB.com)

Erik Distler and Garrett Wong of the Green Sports Alliance join Maddy Orr to discuss the first ten years of the GSA, the awesome initiatives of their member organizations, and ways for fans to get involved in the sport sustainability movement.

Green Sports Alliance Summit will be June 19-20 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia Dune Ives Dune Ives is the executive director of award-winning Lonely Whale, where she designs and leads initiatives that address environmental degradation and species decline. Through her leadership, Lonely Whale has received global recognition as one of Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas, Huffington Post’s Top Ten Movers and Shakers in Environmental Sustainability, the P4G 2018 Circular Economy Award sponsored by the Danish Government; and more. Prior to Lonely Whale, Dune designed and oversaw Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Philanthropy, co-founded the Green Sports Alliance, and was among the first individuals trained by the Honorable Al Gore to deliver his presentation on global warming. One of the exciting initiatives at Lonely Whale is Next Wave Plastics. This is an initiative to get companies to use ocean bound plastics within their products. Can you tell us about this and what you're learning, or any successes that you're seeing in this program? Next Wave Plastics is an initiative that was co-created by Dell Technologies and Lonely Whale. It came out of a request that Adrian Grenier made as he was serving as Dell's first social good advocate. He asked if Dell could help him address, and help all of us, really address the growing plastic pollution crisis. What Dell discovered that they could do is source plastic that was once bound for the ocean, meaning it's within 50 kilometers of any waterways, and they it into their packaging. It was so inspiring for them as a company. Michael Dell himself got very engaged. The employees were very excited. Dell then asked us to engage other companies. So, we launched Next Wave Plastics in December, 2017 with eight companies with the intent of developing a collaborative where companies are working directly with each other. Competitors now are sitting across the table from each other, working with each other within industry and cross industry, to build infrastructure in parts of the world where the issue is the most acute. They then integrate the materials permanently into their products, thereby creating a fully circular economy. It's been very exciting to see. We had HP and IKEA join the list of companies in 2018, and we now have more companies coming on board over the course of the next six months. We see this as being one of those important actions being taken today by companies that are having a real impact. So, this year they're sourcing material and they're preventing it from going in the water. It's very exciting to see these companies take a strong leadership role. What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers? Be Curious. Don't think that you know all the answers and don't think you understand the questions that are being asked. Curiosity is what is going to allow us to find the solutions that don't currently exist to the problems that we're facing. What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability? There are two things. Number one, even amidst all of the bad news I don't see people giving up. I see people really rolling their sleeves up and digging in to these issues and wanting to just keep fighting the good fight and winning. I also see corporations turning the tide and that to me is really exciting. I think they're pushing themselves harder. I think they're not standing for what they've done in the past and they're really leading this discussion, which is what we need for them to do. What is one book you would recommend sustainability professionals read? Years ago I had the fortune of spending about a week on vacation, which is very unusual for anybody these days. I took the book Guns, Germs, and Steel with me on vacation. I'm bringing this up because it was one of the most influential books for me. Just really looking back over time in the history of our species, how we have migrated, how we have evolved, why we've done certain things. It was a very important book for me at the time to really recognize that I am but one small moment in time and there is history to learn from and there are patterns we need to start seeing and incorporate in how we build the vision of our future. There's one lesson learned from that book that I will share with your audience that I just think is hilarious and we have a lot to learn from it. Zebras were never domesticated because when they bite, they don't let go. And I think that's brilliant. Why are some things so difficult to change? It's because we have built in mechanisms to prevent the change that we don't want to have happen from happening. Change is hard for the zebra. The zebra has figured out how to never become domesticated. So how do we take that lesson and how do we apply it to the sustainability work that we do, especially when we're facing attractable change. What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work? I spend a lot of time observing how my child interacts with the environment and noticing what he notices. As adults, I think we feel like we know all the answers and we're not always as observant because we've become accustomed to our environment. I like to spend time with people who look at the world differently and at Lonely Whale we actually spend a lot of time thinking about the non able-bodied community. Those who have physical or cognitive impediments. I think we need to start spending more time talking with those who can't interact the way that we've designed things and then I think we'll start learning more. Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the work of your wonderful organizations? Lonely Whale is at lonelywhale.org and Green Sports Alliance is greensportsalliance.org. You're going to get a ton of information if you sign up for our newsletters. Follow us on Instagram at Lonely Whale. Come to the Green Sports Alliance Summit. It is going to be really exciting and it's really gonna pave the way for a lot of exciting, very thoughtful and thought provoking conversations about the wave of the future. Roger McClendon Roger McClendon is the Executive Director of the Green Sports Alliance. In his role, he leads the Alliance of international sports and stadium executives, as well as sustainability experts, to use sports as a vehicle to promote healthy, sustainability communities throughout the world. Prior to joining the Alliance, Roger was the first-ever Chief Sustainability Officer for Yum! Brands, whose holdings include Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC restaurants. He also led the development of Blueline, a sustainable design guide for restaurants built on the LEED certification program. Blueline was a global standard implemented in approximately 5,000 Yum! Brand restaurants globally. Due to his efforts, Yum! Was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index in 2017 and 2018, as well as one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens by Corporate Responsibility Magazine. You're relatively new to the position. Can give us a quick overview of what's going on with the Green Sports Alliance right now and maybe what you envisioned for the organization in the future? I've been with the Organization for a good four months now and I always say I'm standing on the shoulders of giants. This organization has been engaged with sustainability and sports for over nine years. We'll be coming up on our 10th year anniversary next year. Coming from west coast to east coast, I've heard varying stories about the inception of the Green Sports Alliance, but have to give kudos to Scott Jenkins, who's our chair of our board, and folks like Alan Hershkowitz and Paul Allen who put a lot of funding in early behind it and the impetus of bringing sports teams together to really stand for social and environmental progress. The west coast development, from the Sounders to the Portland Trailblazers to the Seattle Mariners, all those folks got together and decided that they wanted to take a position and push the environmental sustainability agenda. They saw this as regional and then they saw this as a national opportunity and it was formed. There's another story about the Philadelphia Eagles and the owning family asking an issue about deforestation and where their paper goods products came from. I think that's where Alan Hershkowitz and the folks that were leading the organization back then were able to break through and get them interested in supporting a sustainability position. So since then, the group has formed into the Green Sports Alliance, which is an international organization where we have representation in Japan, Europe and are growing the brand beyond the North American borders. It's a group of about 500-600 sports teams and venues, from the NFL, NBA, USTA, PGA. I don't want to leave anybody out, but there's a lot of influential sports leagues, teams and venues such as AEG and Staples Center. The folks that own those venues are all part of our membership-based organization. We take that seriously on our stewardship and what we need to do to set our strategy and our goals around this movement of sustainability. I like to break it up into three phases. Phase 1 is the sustainability 1.0 platform where you have engagement of your operations and your brand, league or stadium owner and you can really improve your operations from a triple bottom line perspective - people, profitability and planet. Phase 2, or the sustainability 2.0, has to do with engaging your fan base, your employees as well as the community. That's a little bit tougher and that happens to be where you spend a lot of time perhaps doing some campaigns and things like tree planting, understanding how you engage fans to participate in recycling efforts and things they can do beyond just the stadium itself. We're still in varying stages with different groups to make that happen. There's a lot of work left to be done there. The third phase, or sustainability 3.0, is defining what's next, but it's in the area of youth engagement, leveraging the Sustainable Development Goals from the United Nations and getting cities and communities to really help with clean energy and help make a bigger impact on what we're trying to do as a society. What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers? Continue to be bold and brave and set targets. Tehn, build a coalition and always keep the triple bottom line in mind as you're presenting. What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability? The international growth of the Green Sports Alliance. We just signed the United Nations Sports for Climate Action Change and we've just got so much support behind us. It's a commitment to some principles but what it really means is that we can galvanize everyone around it and really get to driving action around it. Now that we've got that under our belt, we see a lot more people like the NBA, the Yankees, USTA and others I'm sure it will be joining us as we move forward. What is one book you would recommend sustainability leaders read? Green to Gold is a classic and Food Foolish talks about waste and how much waste we have with the food supply. What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work? I've engaged with World Wildlife Fund. WWF has always been a great partner and they've always had great resources globally. I think very highly of them as well as NRDC. Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the work of the Green Sports Alliance? You can go to our website at greensportsalliance.org. You can actually come to the summit, which is going to be June 19th and 20th in Philadelphia at Lincoln Financial Field. You can go to our website and sign up. We've got a great forum that we're going to have. About Sustridge Sustridge is a sustainability consulting firm providing consulting in sustainability strategy development, GHG emissions calculating and management, zero waste planning and guidance in TRUE Zero Waste, B Corp, LEED and Carbon Neutral certification.  

SUSTAINABILITY IN SPORTS: Conversations with Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, Rocky Harris and Kaitlin Sandeno According to Forbes the sports industry's projected worth is to grow to over $70 billion this year.   In January 2019, the New York Yankees became the first sports team in history to create the position of Environmental Science Advisor to its staff.  The legendary sports franchise chose Dr. Allen Hershkowitz of the Natural Resources Defense Council, ex-President of the Green Sports Alliance and Founding Director of Sport and Sustainability International (SandSI) for this role.   Bard MBA student Alexandra Criscuolo, an athlete in her own right, spoke with Dr. Hershkowitz, Rocky Harris, CEO of USA Triathlon and Olympic gold medalist in swimming, Kaitlin Sandeno about sustainability in sports and how the field is primed to move fans and society toward a more sustainable future beyond the sporting arena. impactreportpodcast.com    

Jason Twill has a career spanning over 20 years in urban development. Jason has been at the forefront of built environment transformation. His career experience includes delivery of sustainable mixed-income housing projects throughout New York City, delivery of Vulcan Inc.'s South Lake Union Innovation District in Seattle, Washington, and serving as Head of Sustainability and Innovation for Lendlease in Australia. In 2016, Jason was appointed as an Innovation Fellow and Senior Lecturer within the Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building at the University of Technology Sydney and leads research into regenerative urbanism, housing affordability, and property economics. Jason was designated a LEED Fellow by the United States Green Building Council in 2014, and he was named a Next City Global Urban Vanguard in both 2015 and 2017. Jason is also an appointed Champion and advisor to Nightingale Housing in Australia.   Love for NYC Jason was born just outside of Philadelphia and grew up on the east coast.  He then moved to Columbia, Maryland, before he moved again to a suburb outside of New York City, during high school.  Where Jason grew up shaped his passion for the built environment and his desire to transform it. “My father worked in New York, and I think I grew up hating the suburbs and the monoculture status to it of car dominant environments.  I think experiencing New York City as a young adolescent and teenager really introduced me to tolerance, diversity, language, ethnicity and all these different things and I just fell in love with the city.” - Jason Twill   September 11, 2001 Jason fell in love with architecture and construction.  He was working in New York for an architecture firm and was planning to go to school at Columbia.  In 2001, Jason was working for Mass and Duffy in the World Trade Center during the attacks and barely escaped.  He postponed going to graduate school due to the aftermath of 9-11.   Shifting from Architecture to Real Estate Jason began to gravitate towards real estate development.  He wanted to be a change agent around sustainability, social responsibility, and development in cities.  Jason was pushing people to get affordable housing. “I remember a lot of us getting made fun of. There was a cluster of us that we're incubating the urban green, the green building chapter of New York City, and just kind of fighting to have a voice to educate the building industry, the architects, and the engineers.” - Jason Twill Urban Apostles Founder Jason is founder and Director of Urban Apostles, a start-up real estate development and consulting services business specialising in regenerative development and deliberative housing models for cities. Urban Apostles' work focuses on the intersection of the sharing economy and the art of city making. He is a co-founder of both the International Living Future Institute and Green Sports Alliance as well as an originator of the Economics of Change project. In 2017, Jason founded and launched the City Makers' Guild, an education, advocacy and research group promoting more equitable and inclusive cities.   Book Recommendations The Geography of Nowhere:  The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape by James Howard Kunstler Dark Emu:  Aboriginal Australia and the Birth of Agriculture by Bruce Pascoe Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond 1491:  New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles Mann The Well Tempered City by Jonathan Rose Garrison Institute Tune into this podcast to listen to the rest of Jason Twill's amazing journey in this podcast hosted by Charlie.   Connect with Jason Twill: Linkedin   Connect with Charlie Cichetti and GBES: Charlie on LinkedIn Green Building Educational Services GBES on Twitter Connect on LinkedIn Like on Facebook Google+ GBES Pinterest Pins GBES on Instagram   Announcement:  GBMS is excited our membership community is growing.  Consider joining our membership community as members will be given access to some of the guests on the podcasts that you can ask project questions to, if you are preparing for an exam there will be more insurances that you will pass your next exam, you will be given cliff notes if you are a member and so much more.   If you truly enjoyed the show, don't forget to leave a positive rating and review on iTunes.  We have prepared more episodes for the upcoming weeks, so come by again next week! Thank you for tuning in to the Green Building Matters Podcast!   Copyright © 2019 GBES

Kunal Merchant is Managing Director of Lotus Advisory. In this capacity, Kunal provides strategic advisory, project management, public affairs, and communications support to a select portfolio of clients in sports, technology, real estate, politics, and philanthropy. Kunal previously served as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for the Sacramento Kings, where he oversaw several strategic, political, media and community initiatives. He managed the Kings delegation to the 2014 NBA Global Games series in China, formulated the team’s “Greenprint” sustainability agenda, and developed the acclaimed Sacramento First labor and community benefits package for the Golden 1 Center. In his previous role as Executive Director of Think BIG Sacramento, Kunal served as Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson’s chief advisor in efforts to develop a public private finance plan for a new downtown arena, win NBA approval to keep the Kings in Sacramento, and facilitate sale of the franchise to a new ownership group. Kunal Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss: The work of the Green Sports Alliance Engaging fans in sustainability through sports Communicating the business value of sustainability Advice and recommendations for sustainability leaders Kunal's Final Five Responses: What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers? Think big and think broadly. So, I get approached all the time by people who have a real passion for green, for sustainability and they want to make it the centerpiece of their jobs. And there are increasingly jobs out there in the marketplace that are these explicit jobs around sustainability, about the environment. But I remind them, you're talking to somebody who used to work for a basketball team, that ended up having a really big sustainability piece of his job. There is an opportunity in all sorts of jobs to focus on sustainability. You just have to be creative enough to pursue it. So, look at those sustainability jobs as traditional categories, but also challenge yourself to see about ways where you could pull sustainability into other jobs and make it a piece of the puzzle as well. What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability? As an American, I feel like we are at our best when our backs are against the wall, and you see that play out throughout history. I think finally you're seeing a level of attention to the crisis around climate change and around these issues, and I'm really excited about the level of ambition I'm seeing at a more local level. Obviously, some of these big issues are only going to get solved at a federal or even international level, but state governments, local public policy makers and some of these new governors in Colorado and California are what I'm really excited about. And then, just everyday citizens organizing around elements of this that they are inspired by, and the technological tools and the media tools we have today, you can do so much more than you used to. I'm just so excited about this bottom up approach I'm seeing because we can't afford to wait around for the people at the top if they're not getting it. That really gets me really excited and I want to do everything I can to help support that. What is one book you would recommend sustainability leaders read? So, I'm sure there's all sorts of cool books at the cool kids' table in sustainability, but I got to say, there's an old classic that I still have, which you probably remember Josh, it's called 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth. This is a book I read when I was probably eight or nine years old growing up in Colorado. Of course it's a little corny and it's and it's certainly small scale, but I think there's a power of messaging and communication in there. When I was a kid, I read this book and it gave me these incredibly tactical, practical things I could do to do my part. Whoever you are and wherever you are in the green space, we have to explain this issue the right way. We're failing right now. The community at large does not understand what's at stake and it's on us to fix that. So, I think that's a great book. I look at every now and then just to remind myself that you can get lost in all of the jargon and the technical pieces of this and the data and all that, but you have to connect with people. That was a book that connected with me as an eight year old kid and really affected my whole view on the world. We need to be doing more things like that. What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in your work? The obvious one is just the Green Sports Alliance network. I would say that even if I wasn't on the board, because a lot of the work I'm doing on sustainability is tied to sports. But I think even if you're not in sports, I would check out the website, greensportsalliance.org. Check out a lot of these resources and playbooks that they've come up with because they're transferable to other industries. We may have customized them specific to sports teams and leagues, but in terms of trying to tell a story to consumers, tell a story to businesses, and what to prioritize and how to organize it, we've spent a lot of time thinking about that. I pull those tools all the time to help me in my work. Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and your work? I would recommend going into my website, lotusadvisory.com or just shoot me an email at kunal@lotusadvisory.com. About Sustridge Sustridge is a sustainability consulting firm providing consulting in sustainability strategy development, GHG emissions calculating and management, zero waste planning and guidance in TRUE Zero Waste, B Corp, LEED and Carbon Neutral certification.

Erik Distler is the Director of Partnerships for the Green Sports Alliance. In his role, Erik has internal and external facing responsibilities, including organizational management and strategy, business development, and oversight of members and partnerships, in addition to leading the organization's strategic partnerships and collaborations, most significantly with ESPN and various professional sports leagues.   Prior to joining the Green Sports Alliance, Erik was most recently with PwC as a consultant within the firm's Sustainable Business Solutions advisory practice. Erik's experience prior to PwC includes business development, management, accounting & finance consulting and public accounting.   Erik Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss: The sustainability movement in professional sports Getting athletes to become sustainability advocates 2026 World Cup North America and sustainability Advice and recommendations for sustainability leaders Erik's Final Five Responses: What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers? The advice I would give is to remain flexible and strategic around how you embrace or create opportunities for yourself. So, we are building the plane as we fly it in this space of sustainability. It's often that the jobs individuals have in sustainability were created by someone being inside of an organization who saw an opportunity to establish this new focus for their organization, and many who have roles that touch sustainability in some way, shape or form, probably contributed to establishing the job description or the role or title. So, just consider where and how you can get creative in developing and advancing in this space and creating opportunities, not only for yourself, but for others who are coming out of school or have passion in doing a career change and ultimately want to contribute to effecting change in the space. What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability? I'm just so thankful and appreciative of the ability to do the work we do and get to connect on a daily basis with the sports industry and all of those who are in the stadiums, at the venues, at the league level in colleges and universities that are doing the hard work, rolling up their sleeves and doing the work. We get the pleasure of being able to tell the stories and inspire others to do the work as well, but I'm always humbled by how hard and how dedicated the people are that are in this space. So, I feel a great sense of gratitude to all those who are out there on the front line, so to speak, leading this work. From an excitement standpoint, the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, obviously the united bid across the three countries and the LA 2028 Olympics. Having the eyes of the world on this continent and on this country is a great opportunity for us to advance and drive and affect change in this space. What is one book you would recommend sustainability leaders read? I have to go back to my graduate school days. Thinking In Systems by Donella Meadows. It was one of the foundational reads for our program and it really addresses a core tenant of sustainability, that systems thinking model. I reference the book consistently in my work today. What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in the work that you do? I try to keep up on sustainability news as much as I can. So GreenBiz, Triple Pundit, Sports Business Journal. Really using some of the thought leadership and the insight that's coming out of what is happening in and around this plane as we're building it. So it's all sort of happening in front of us on a daily basis and there's various partners of ours, such as associations and groups we work with, that are constantly putting out new ways of thinking and new ways of advancing the focus that we have in this space. So I try to keep myself well read in my free time. Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the work that you're leading at the Green Sports Alliance. Check out our website, greensportsalliance.org. We also have active social media presence across Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram. We are constantly pushing out stories of the work our members and partners are doing, and that's part of our focus on amplifying and spreading the word of this great sports greening movement that we get to work in.

Anne L. Kelly is Senior Director of Policy at Ceres, a non-profit advocacy organization that seeks to mobilize investor and business leadership to build a more sustainable global economy.  Anne also directs Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy (BICEP), a coalition of 49 leading consumer-facing companies including Mars, L’Oreal, and VF Corporation seeking to advocate for meaningful climate and energy policy at the federal and state levels.  She is a registered lobbyist and is actively engaged on Capitol Hill on behalf of Ceres and BICEP member companies. Anne is an environmental lawyer with twenty years of combined experience in the private and public sectors. In the 1990s she directed the Massachusetts-based Environmental Crimes Strike Force consisting of a multi-disciplinary team of legal and engineering professionals charged with bringing high-profile civil and criminal actions against environmental violators through the MA Office of the Attorney General. She later worked as Special Assistant to EPA Region I Administrator John DeVillars. In this role she worked on corporate leadership programs and developed an International Pollution Prevention Program which was piloted in Sao Paulo, Brazil.    Anne is a member of the adjunct faculty of Boston College Law School where she has taught courses in environmental law and climate change. Anne has also taught environmental law at Tufts University, Suffolk University, New England School of Law, and is a member of the American College of Environmental Lawyers. She also serves on the board of the Environmental League of Massachusetts. In addition to her JD, Anne holds a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Anne Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss: Why companies should get active on climate / energy policy Companies that are stand-out champions in BOTH the leadership/operational side AND policy advocacy Ceres top policy priorities right now Advice and recommendations for sustainability leaders Anne's Final Five Responses: What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers? I would say don't be discouraged. This is a steep hill. You're standing on the shoulders of a movement that is 20 years. It can be difficult when you have to deal with your communications, your marketing office, your CFO, but don't be discouraged. Directionally, things are moving in your favor and there's good things to come. What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability? I'm actually really excited about professional sports. I just had the pleasure of going to the Green Sports Alliance and I was so excited about meeting all these famous former athletes who've become clean energy specialists and to see the innovation. I was at the Atlanta Falcons stadium, and to see the innovation there and the solar panels and the announcement recently of my own hometown team, the Detroit Lions, which is exciting. To know that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has taken on plastic straws as a cause. There are so many examples of professional sports getting in the game, all puns intended. What is one book you would recommend sustainability professionals read? I thought about this for awhile and I think it's a classic, which is Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, published in 1963. I think it's still really important to read a book that was so pivotal to the origins of this movement and then to understand just how much resistance Rachel had to face when she published the truth. It's a good foundational piece and would give sustainability professionals a lot of inspiration and encouragement when they realize what Rachel Carson went through, what she did for all of us and also how far we've come since the book was published. What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in the work that you do? I mentioned a few and I would just reiterate that Winning Businesses is tremendous, filled with tremendous resources. Our colleagues at GreenBiz are also constantly giving us good information, interviews, webinars, podcasts. Our colleagues at CDP, formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project, are just experts. The Science Based Target Initiative. They're part of that. I would say I'm SBTI is another great resource. As a media partner, I would direct people to the Climate Nexus Hot News every day. I'm able to get quickly caught up on the news media and what's going on. For that, I would also say the ENE Reporter is really helpful as a resource to just know what's going on. I'd be remiss if I didn't promote our own Ceres website. We have a number of reports that help people with the basics from disclosure, to the basics of stakeholder engagement, to engage the chain, which is on supply chain management. A lot of reports on water management and water responsibility. We have a report on feeding ourselves thirsty, which really looks at the performance of major food companies in terms of water. Where can our listeners go to learn more about you in the work that you're leading? So listeners can go to Ceres.org to learn more about the work that we're doing and specifically to look up our policy network which goes over our public policy initiatives. The website is complete and I'd be very happy to connect with any listener individually if they have an individual question or if they'd like to get engaged in our work.

Highlights of the PAC-12 Sustainability Conference held at UC Boulder on July 12th 2018. This podcast episode includes presentations and interviews from: Jamie Zaninovich – PAC-12 Conference Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Richard Gerstein - UNIFI Chief Marketing Officer Mary Harvey – Former U.S. Women’s National Team Goalkeeper, Olympic Gold Medalist and FIFA World Cup Champion Jason Richardson – Retired NBA Player and NCAA Champion Paisley Benaza – Ph.D. Student and Communications Strategist at Arizona State University Arielle Gold – Professional Snowboarder and Olympic Bronze Medalist Consistent with its reputation as the Conference of Champions, the Pac-12 is the first collegiate sports conference to convene a high level symposium focused entirely on integrating sustainability into college athletics and across college campuses. All of the Pac-12 athletic departments have committed to measuring their environmental performance, developing strategies and goals to reduce their impact, monitoring their progress, and engaging fans and communities in greener practices. The Pac-12 Sustainability Conference signals an elevated approach to enhancing sustainability efforts within collegiate athletics departments, designing new collective initiatives, and sharing best practices to transform college sports into a platform for environmental progress. Transcript of PAC-12 Sustainability Conference Highlights: Jamie Zaninovich – PAC-12 Conference Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer We're very proud of the thought leadership platform we have at the PAC-12 and I think everybody in this room fits in really well and speaks to what we're trying to do in this space as leaders in the collegiate athletics sustainability movement. I think one other thing that's really exciting about today is the diversity we have in this room. For those of you that will engage with each other throughout the day, we have multimedia rights holders, we have sales teams, we have marketing professionals, we have sustainability industry professionals and of course school reps representing both sustainability offices as well as our athletic departments. It's really a only of its kind event that brings together this diverse group within college athletics and sustainability. So, thank you everyone for participating. We have a great program for you today. I won't get into it in detail, but we hope it will spark a lot of conversation around new ideas and expanding existing ideas in the collegiate sports sustainability space and hopefully extend that throughout this global movement. We really challenged our program committee this year to outpace what we did last year, which was very difficult for those of you that experienced Bill Walton and others at last year's conference. Let's say it was memorable. But I think it's safe to say that they went above and beyond to find an incredible group of speakers and panelists for this year's event. Today you'll be hearing from professional athletes, former professional athletes, NBA champions, NCAA champions, former and current Olympians, as well as Colorado's own Arielle Gold, who recently brought back a bronze medal from the Olympics in the halfpipe snowboards. And Arielle, as you will learn later today, has now dedicated herself to helping effect climate change which she experienced firsthand in her experiences in the Olympics. So without that, Mary referenced that we have an announcement today. As you might've seen on your way in, or in the backdrop, or on these pillows, or on a free pair of a Repreve branded socks that everyone will get today and are very cool and already flying off the truck. We have a very special announcement today in that we're announcing the formation of PAC-12 Team Green, which is a first of its kind, collegiate athletic sustainability platform which will serve to promote all the phenomenal greening efforts in the PAC-12 and around our campuses. I think it's safe to say this is a historic day, honestly, in collegiate athletics. There's never been a college conference that has embraced a collectively like our schools have a sustainability initiative like this. While our league office and member institutions have already been executing phenomenal sustainability initiatives for years, PAC-12 Team Green will now allow us to have a collective home and brand all of those efforts, including amplifying them on our own media company, the PAC-12 Network. So, from our PAC-12 zero waste challenge campus recycling competition, to our constant efforts leading sustainability activities at our multiple sports championships, to the formation of our sustainability working group, which is again one of its kind, a working group that's been working for a year which is composed of both the sustainability professional and athletics professional on each of our campuses. We are united now under PAC-12 Team Green to further cement and strengthen our leadership position in sustainability in collegiate athletics. But wait, there's more. As part of the launch of PAC-12 Team Green today, we are also honored, thrilled, so excited to announce our new partnership with Unifi Manufacturing, as the founding sustainability partner for our PAC-12 Team Green platform. Unifi's goals and missions align perfectly with those of PAC-12 Team Green and our conferences. They have led the way in innovation as a leader in the emerging circular economy movement. We are thrilled to welcome them as the first and only founding partner of this new exciting platform, PAC-12 Team Green. As part of this multiyear partnership, and as an official partner of PAC-12 Team Green, Unify will serve as a prominent partner at all PAC-12 championships, will provide funding to all twelve of our campuses to promote zero waste efforts and will work with PAC-12 networks on the creation of custom content to further promote some of the industry leading sustainability efforts being executed on our campuses.  Richard Gerstein - UNIFI Chief Marketing Officer So, while universities are playing a big role, surprisingly professional sports are also leading the way on sustainability. In 2015, the Mariners recycled or composted 87 percent of all waste generated at SAFECO Field. In 2005, only 10 years earlier, the rate was 12 percent. Nearly everything used at Safeco Field is recyclable or compostable. They put bins out, replace garbage cans with recycling bins, and cleaning crews hand separate plastic and compostable waste after every game. As a result, they've diverted 2.7 million pounds in 2015 of waste from landfills, and just as importantly saved $125,000 in landfill costs. This can be good for the bottom line as much as it's good for the world. So what if every PAC-12 stadium was landfill free? And Nike's making a difference in professional sports, as all the replica NFL jerseys are made from recycled polyester. And they're doing the same with the NBA replica jerseys as well. But I would, ask why shouldn't that also be true for the PAC-12? So my hope for today, is that together we can challenge the norms, overcome the obstacles, and set audacious goals. So let's ask, "what if?" What if just one PAC-12 school demonstrated the power of a circular economy and converted it's student apparel to 100 percent recycled polyester fiber. So let's say we converted 415,000 shirts for one school. We would take 5 million bottles out of landfills. We would save enough electricity to power 51 homes for a year. We'd save enough water to provide 630 people with daily drinking water for a year. We would improve the air quality by avoiding 140,000 kg's of CO2 emissions. And the great news is, it doesn't take a $50 million dollar capital project to get it done. However, it all starts with recycling. Unfortunately, we are woefully low as a country and I wish I could tell you that our universities, with all our millennials, do better. But in most cases, they don't. China recycles at more than double our rate, but by asking "what if?" I truly believe we can make a difference demonstrating the power of the circular economy, and the people in this room have the ability to lead that change. So we have a great day ahead of us. It's all about asking "what if?". So, I encourage you to think beyond the expected, beyond the obvious and set a goal and path towards becoming known, not only as the conference of champions, but as champions of sustainability. So I leave you with a reminder of those that have come before us, from the halls you will all return to at the end of this week, and what they achieved by simply asking, "what if?". Mary Harvey – Former U.S. Women’s National Team Goalkeeper, Olympic Gold Medalist and FIFA World Cup Champion Interviewed by Josh Prigge – Founder and CEO of Sustridge Mary Harvey, tell our listeners a little bit about who you are, a little background on your personal life and what brought you to be doing what you're doing today. I'm a former athlete. I'm a former member of the US Women's National Soccer Team. I played eight years for the US Women. I'm also a PAC-12 graduate of a couple of schools. So my undergrad was at UC Berkeley, or Cal as we call it in the athletics world. Then I got my MBA at UCLA. But the other thing that is germane to why I do this work, is growing up in northern California. I was quite young, but still old enough to remember the drought of 1977. So, conservation of water was something that I've never forgotten. And that combined with early experiences with recycling that I had due to a neighbor that was actively involved in it. This really shaped me at a very young age around why environmental protection is so important. So fast forward, I chose to get involved in it as a volunteer. I'm the vice chair of the Green Sports Alliance, which is a marriage between sports and environmental protection and a labor of love for all of us. And finally, I've had the incredible opportunity to work as an advisor on sustainability for the successful 2026 World Cup bid to bring the 2026 FIFA World Cup to Canada, Mexico, and the United States. So, let's talk about a little bit about that marriage of sustainability in sports. Why do you think that's an important issue? How can sports help drive sustainability forward in our society? Well, lots of lots of ways. Sport has a very special place and it touches people emotionally, so it has a very special place. As a result of that, people convene. So people convene in stadiums and ballparks and on fields. People come together. And when people come together and are connected by the love of something, it's also an opportunity to associate that with other things that are also powers for good to drive change. So, when you look at, either mega sporting events like the Olympics or the World Cup, or collegiate football, or even just local recreational sports, you're convening groups of people together and people who have a shared interest. But also as a byproduct of that, we have an opportunity to talk to them or educate them in a way that's appropriate. Right? They're there to watch sports or enjoy sports, but talk about how we can collectively make a difference. And that's what sports offers the opportunity to do in a fairly effective and an efficient way. Now, how about sustainability leaders? What can they learn from athletic leaders? What do you think sustainability professionals can learn from professional athletes like yourself? What do you think are some of those similar traits and qualities of sustainability leaders and professional athletes? Well, I think it's about driving performance. As an alumna of the US women's team, we talked about what drives performance on a daily basis and how do you get there, how do you maximize it, what affects it, and how you achieve it on a sustained basis. So performance is always going to resonate within the athletics community. Translating that into sustainability, there are lots of ways to do that. So, be it metrics where you're looking to perform against diversion rates or whatever the metrics are that you have set for yourself. But also it's an opportunity to look at the financial performance as well. So there's a strong correlation between measures that improve your sustainability performance and savings. There are many opportunities to decrease some of your cost drivers by implementing sustainable practices. But at the same time, we're finding increasingly, that there's also opportunities for driving revenue. So things that were considered waste 10 years ago are now raw materials for another process. So as you look at that, and the opportunities for that. For example, the oils that are used for the fryers in restaurants is now an input for the biodiesel process. So those things all have value. So it's also about capturing value, which drives performance around sustainability. We've been hearing a lot about waste at a lot of these sessions today. We heard a lot of great examples of these universities leading zero waste and, and also how to communicate the financial payback and the economic opportunities behind a focus on zero waste. And making it fun. We just heard about tailgating and best practices around diversion rates, and hearing about key learnings. And they said, "Listen, it's got to be fun. It's got to be easy for fans and it's got to be fun." And if you combine those two, people really take to it. The engagement from fans, even though they're not yet in the stadium, is a lot higher. And it's one of the important points here today, is it's not just about reducing our impact but it's also about the community and building community, engaging the community and also hoping that they take these practices home and those values start to permeate throughout the community. What else have you seen that at the conference today? Any highlights? Any points that you'd like to share with our listeners? I love the keynote. I thought we started off very strongly with a keynote from the CEO of Unifi around "what if?". Applying "what if?" to sustainability and environmental protection specifically. So, what if we were going to try to bring close loop into all these different things like single use plastics? What if we were trying to eliminate single use plastic items? These are propositions that people have posed and done and achieved, so it is possible. So we look now at, what if we were able to successfully get rid of ocean waste? What if we were able to get rid of single use plastic items? What if? I thought that was a great way to frame it. I think that that's going to be a fantastic partnership. And having that leadership from the top is just so important. Throughout my career in sustainability, I've learned that leading sustainability in an organization is a lot harder when you don't have that top level leadership. And having Jamie Zaninovich here talking about things that he's obviously passionate about and what he wants to see happen in this conference is exciting. And, and to have that top down support is crucial. Critical. I'm doing a session at the end of today which is around when it became personal or when it, when this started to matter to a person. I will be up there with Arielle Gold, snowboarder Olympian. We're going to be talking about at what moment did protection of the environment and being more responsible happen for you? I can articulate it growing up in the late 1970's. I learned every drop of water was precious because we didn't have it. So I actually asked Jamie that same question. I'm going to call on him tonight during that session and say, "When did it make an impression on you?" And he has a story. Sure enough, the guy who grew up to be in a position to then make an impact and say, "You know what, PAC-12 is going to be about sustainability. So much so that we're going to have the PAC-12 Green Team." I've never been so proud to be a PAC-12 alumni because from a conference that looks at this as not only the right thing to do, but tremendous opportunity that can be derived from it. So, you can trace that influential person who makes that key decision, you can trace that back to at some point in this case. He had a moment where it started to matter to him, so that when somebody years later walked into his office and says, "Hey, I want to talk to you about sustainability," he's going to listen. And now numerous positive impacts are coming from that - what happened to him that many years ago. Mary, it was so great to chat with you. Such an incredible insights. Before we let you go, I would love to hear your top highlight in your time working in sustainability and your top highlight from your years as a professional athlete. The top highlight working in sustainability, I would say was the opportunity to work on the united 2026 bid. Because the bid books were public. We were writing a sustainability strategy that the world would read. It's a promise. Your writing basically a promise when you write a bid book. And so having the opportunity to say "what if?". Right? That whole idea of what if eight years from now we could put on the most sustainable World Cup ever in three countries and transform cities on environmental protection and sustainability. The opportunity to work on something like that was once in a lifetime and now it's about doing it, which is even better. We saw the last Super bowl did a great job. They had a great diversion rate, a waste diversion rate, and the World Cup being several years out, we're all very much looking forward to. And how about your top professional highlight as a player? I would say winning the Olympics, to be an American and win a gold medal at the Olympics, it hits you in a very special place. To be part of a group of women who would go on...we were kids back then. We're in our early, late teens, early twenties. To be part of a generation of women who in life since then have gone on to be changemakers in so many other ways. But the genesis of it was even before 1996, which is the 1991 Women's World Cup final. For an American to be an Olympian, and especially Olympic gold medalist, it's unbelievable. As a soccer player, it's about winning the World Cup. And so to be a part of the 1991 Women's World Cup team that won the first Women's World Cup ever, I'll never forget it. And it was a tough final. We got out of there with the win, but it wasn't easy. But look at the change it's invoked. So I'm really proud of having been a part of that.  Jason Richardson – Retired NBA Player and NCAA Champion Interviewed by Paisley Benaza – Ph.D. Student and Communications Strategist at Arizona State University So, Jason, so what does it really feel like when you're that guy and you're on the court and you're actually the spectacle that we're watching? It's pretty tough at first. When you first get into that arena. You're coming out to the stadiums and it's 20,000 people out there. You're like, "Wait a minute, what did I get myself into?" But at the same time, you're out there to do a job. You practiced all your life for it, you worked all your life for it. Eventually to crowd just starts to fade and all you see out there is your teammates and the other five opponents on the basketball court. Can you talk to us about that rivalry feeling and does it stick with you? Pretty sure everybody knows the rivalry does stick with you no matter what, how old you get, how far away you become from it? To this day, I hate Michigan. There's no question about it. Those colors make me sick. Which is crazy because I actually grew up a Michigan fan. I grew up a Michigan fan all my life. We watched the Fab Five when I was younger, the football team won the national championship, the basketball team won the national championship in '89. And when I had opportunity to go to college, my whole family thought I was going to Michigan and the night before I announced Michigan State. Ever since that day I hated Michigan. So a lot of people in this room are either recruiting for their schools, recruiting students for their programs. What was it about Michigan State for you to make that last minute switch? I think it started off with coach Izzo. When I was going down there as a sophomore getting recruited on unofficial visits, he felt like a father away from home. And then all the guys on our team we're like brothers away from home. It was just an open family and that made me decide to go to Michigan State. So the key is family and I think PAC-12, with all our universities and brands, I think that's a theme that is throughout all of our schools. Bleacher Report, which is like an ESPN for online, they did this whole story on the bottled water obsession taking over NBA locker rooms and it was really interesting to read. And you could see here they have superstars and they have all these different brands of water - Fiji, Dasani and sparkling water. So what did you get out of that? Well, it's actually funny when I read this article. I was a part of the team in Philadelphia where they tracked our water, like we were little kids. It was actually pretty amazing and it forces us to drink water and guys started asking, "Hey, can we have Fiji here? Can we have Smart Water here?" And you started realizing all the bottle of the water that were just coming through the system. It was very interesting seeing this article because now you're seeing your favorite player grabbing these water bottle. As a kid thinking, "Oh, Lebron James is drinking Fiji water." Just imagine how many kids are asking about this water. Now you're getting all these bottles involved that are getting put out there. If you look at it from a sustainability standpoint, all of the bottles of water are contributing to that plastic trash. How do you think that players could think about sustainability and not just branded water because that's a luxury thing, right? I think it definitely is a luxury. I think last year over 90 billion gallons of water bottles have been distributed or used, and I think that's the big problem. Players are like, "Oh I'm drinking Fiji, I'm drinking this water." And now it's a branding issue because now you're getting all these bottles out there. I think the more you educate them, I think guys will be more open to doing stuff like recycling and reusing bottles. So I think that's something that we have to think about and maybe it comes from the universities, where we're educating athletes to become advocates for sustainability in that they don't become these single use bottled water drinkers. The MLB told me that they really were hard pressed to find an athlete to basically take the mantle of sustainability. So maybe it has to start from the universities. Maybe we have to train them younger so that they don't feel like they needed branded designer water. So, any closing thoughts? I think sustainability is great. Being from the Midwest, we didn't know anything about recycling. We just throw everything out and the garbage man pickup everything, and that was it. Not until 2009, I started learning about it. A teammate, Steve Nash, was very heavily into it with the NBA. We had a thing, I only think the NBA d does it anymore, called Green Week. He taught me a lot about how to be sustainable and stuff like that. And it was great for me. Once I started going to other teams, I started asking questions about it. I got traded to the Orlando Magic and they had this big banner and it was the first NBA arena to be certified LEED. And I asked questions about it like, "What do you know about this?" I was like, "Hey, Steve Nash, he helped me out with this." But I started hearing more about it. Just last year the Sacramento Kings became the first arena in the world to be 100 percent powered by solar panels, which is great. Hopefully we can push more NBA arenas to be LEED certified.  Mary Harvey - Former U.S. Women’s National Team Goalkeeper, Olympic Gold Medalist and FIFA World Cup Champion Arielle Gold – Professional Snowboarder and Olympic Bronze Medalist Mary - Now let's get to the winter sports. Arielle, tell me a little bit about when this got personal for you. Arielle - So, I'm a professional snowboarder. I'm halfpipe snowboarding, and I grew up actually in Steamboat Springs, which is just a few hours away from here. I spent pretty much my entire childhood doing things outside. I always had a love of the outdoors, in particular snowboarding. And one of the great opportunities that snowboarding has afforded me is the chance to travel around the world, pretty much year round. One of my first big trips that I went on was my first Olympics, which was in Sochi, Russia. I was 17 years old. That was in 2014. And I remember going into that Olympics with obviously very high unrealistic expectations. It's the first Olympics and you want it to be kind of that dream experience. I got there and remember going up to the half pipe for the first day of practice, and it was about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, which is not the best. Unfortunately our first practice actually ended up getting canceled because the half pipe was so soft that we couldn't even ride it. And the following day we showed up to practice hoping that the conditions were going to be better, once again, it was really warm and they were actually spraying these blue chemicals all over the halfpipe to try and preserve the snow long enough for us to just have a practice session, which is usually about two hours. That didn't necessarily work very well. So, we ended up going into the day of our event having had next to no practice, just kind of winging it and hoping the halfpipe held it together long enough to have a good contest. I unfortunately was doing my second run of practice and doing a trick that I've done hundreds of times, and ended up hitting just kind of this ghost of bump in the flat bottom of the half pipe, which threw me onto my stomach. I ended up dislocating my shoulder and wasn't able to compete. So essentially, that's how my first Olympics ended. Had to have that put back in, go through the whole process of trying to get healthy again, getting home and rehabbing. But one of the biggest takeaways I had from that was obviously seeing those conditions firsthand and realizing that there was something wrong. We were really far up in the mountains. A lot of people actually go up there to back country snowboard, so that was definitely not a year to be doing that. Mary - So we have these experiences as athletes or as kids. Then we go on to, in your case, life still competing, and in my case life after competing. With this moment you described, how have you taken that experience and brought it forward in things that you say and do with respect to the environment? Arielle - Well, one of the first things I did when I got home from Sochi, was I started researching what I could possibly do to kind of reduce my own environmental footprint. Obviously I travel all the time, so I know that I have a larger footprint probably than a lot of people do. So I just wanted it to do whatever I could to try and reduce that impact as much as I could. One of the first things I did was start speaking with a group called Protect Our Winters, which was actually founded by a professional snowboarder, Jeremy Jones. So a lot of professional ski and snowboarders are pretty involved. What they do is essentially provide a platform for athletes like myself to use their influence to have a positive impact. So I started out really basic - going and speaking at middle and high schools in the Colorado area, speaking to kids and just kind of trying to raise a little bit of awareness, especially in the next generation, because they are the future. That's kind of what I did for the past four years is just some of that lower level, just kind of speaking around these schools and just trying to spread the word as much as possible. I'm doing my own duty, trying to recycle and ride my bike as much as I can and kind of doing all of those basic level things that we should all be doing. It should be second nature at this point. Then, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to go back to this past Olympics a few months ago, which was really an exciting experience for me just to kind of have the chance to get a little bit of redemption after the way that the last one went. We were fortunate to have some pretty incredible conditions in Korea, so I had one of the best halfpipes I've ever ridden and was able to come home with a bronze medal. So that was definitely a bit more of the result that I had initially expected. And one of the great things about that, aside from just enjoying that overall experience, is coming home and just having all of these new incredible opportunities arise such as speaking at this conference. I just got an opportunity to speak at a conference in Argentina. Just doing all of these different things that I probably never would have had the chance to do had I not been able to go back and get a little better result. So, just being able to use my platform for something positive is something I've always wanted to do and always respected other athletes for doing. Mary - If you look closely, everybody's got something. There's something that happened, an experience, something you lived through. And we heard earlier today about when you're talking about engaging athletes or engaging people, it's about getting to know them and finding out what moves them, what drives them, what they're passionate about. And if you can find that anecdote. So, the anecdote that Arielle shared, my anecdote, Jamie's anecdote, whatever the anecdotes that were shared today. If you can tap into that, that's 100 percent authentic. And you will find that when you tap into people's authentic experiences, insecurities about what car they drive or whether or not they're the best ambassador for sustainability - those things start to not matter because that experience is 100 percent authentic and true to them. And you'll find, hopefully, if we can get more athletes to come off the sidelines and start to talk about that, it probably starts with understanding that piece of it. Arielle, what are your thoughts? Arielle - One of my favorite quotes, and I may butcher it a little bit, was actually one that came up in one of the PowerPoints that I presented to some students at a local school in Colorado. The quote essentially says, "The forest would be a very quiet place if the only birds that sang were those the sang best." So essentially, what that tells me, and hopefully what all of you will get out of that, is that you don't have to know everything about something to be passionate about it. And that's something that I've always been a little bit apprehensive about, especially going into something like sustainability and climate change. So for me, just to have this opportunity to speak to all of you and have the opportunity to share my own personal experience and try and kind of fuel the fire a little bit, is what I'm grateful to have the chance to do here. Mary - Now, to wrap things up this evening, I'd like to just mention that this sustainability conference is a wrap and the next PAC-12 Sustainability Conference will be on June 25th and 26th of next year at the University of Washington. So go Dogs and we'll see you all next year.  

#KidsGetIt !  Today, July 1, 2018, on Planet Watch, our guest is Ruby Rorty who, at age 14, founded the Santa Cruz Environmental Alliance http://santacruzenvironme.wixsite.com/scea a youth-led organization with the goal of empowering young people as ocean defenders capable of addressing coastal plastic pollution. One of Ruby's initiatives, #NoMoreMermaidTears , raises awareness about small pieces of glass or plastic which may comprise up to 90% of the islands of plastic now floating in the world's oceans. Ruby is an environmental educator and advocate from Santa Cruz, CA, where she grew up in and around the Pacific Ocean. She has joined the international conservation community as a youth leader for EarthEcho International. Ruby is also a board member for CS3 Game Changers with the Green Sports Alliance, and a public speaker on youth, justice, and the environment at events around the world. She will attend the University of Chicago starting next fall. There, she plans to study journalism, public policy, and economics, all in the context of environmental change and sustainability. Today's show hosted by Joe Jordan with co-hosts Tommy Martin and Maia Rodriguez. Air Date: July 1, 2018 on KSCO radio station AM1080

Today we have a special episode of Sustainable Nation. We're talking sustainability in sports and the PAC-12 Sustainability Conference. Consistent with its reputation as the conference of champions, the PAC-12 is the first collegiate sports conference to convene a high level symposium focused entirely on integrating sustainability into college athletics and across college campuses. All of the PAC-12 athletic departments have committed to measuring their environmental performance, developing strategies and goals to reduce their impact and monitoring their progress in engaging fans and communities in greener practices. The PAC-12 sustainability conference signals in elevated approach to enhancing sustainability efforts within collegiate athletics departments, designing new collective initiatives and sharing best practices to transform college sports into a platform for environmental progress. Today we're interviewing two members of the PAC-12 sustainability conference committee, Dave Newport and Jamie Zaninovich. Jamie Zaninovich - Jamie joined the PAC-12 Conference as Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer in July of 2014. He's responsible for all aspects of the PAC-12's administrative operations, including television administration, sports management, championships, football bowl relationships, PAC-12 global, compliance and officiating. During his first two years at the PAC-12, Jamie helped guide the conference through unprecedented governance changes, major increases in its international efforts, and continued high level success of its 23 sponsored sports. Dave Newport - Dave launched the first US college sports sustainability activation with corporate partnership for the Florida Gators when he was the University of Florida's director of sustainability in 2002. Later he became director of the University of Colorado Boulder Environmental Center and founded the nation's first comprehensive NCAA Division One sports sustainability program, Ralphie's Green Stampede. Dave is also secretary of the Green Sports Alliance board of directors, former board secretary of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, an award winning publisher and editor and a former elected county commission board chairman. Jamie Zaninovich Jamie Zaninovich. Welcome to Sustainable Nation. Thank you so much for joining us. Thanks for having me, Josh. Looking forward to it. I gave the listeners some background on your professional life but tell us a little bit about your personal life and what led you to be doing the work you're doing today. College sports has been a passion of mine since my early days in Eugene, Oregon where I was a faculty brat, son of a faculty member who played basketball in college back in the day and used to take me to all the games at the old historic Matt Court and Autzen Stadium in Eugene as a kid. So that's really where my passion for collegiate athletics started, and I was not a good enough to be a collegiate student athlete, so of course, decided to be an administrator instead. That's how it works. I've spent the last 25 years working both on campus and in college athletic conferences starting at Stanford and then Princeton University, and now here at the PAC-12 for the past four years. Like I said, it's a passion of mine as is sustainability, so we're really excited that we're at least making some progress in putting those two things together here at the PAC-12. And now the PAC-12 Sustainability Conference coming up in July. Really the first sustainability focused conference put on by a collegiate sports conference, the PAC-12. Tell us a little bit about how that came about and what people can expect at this year's PAC-12 Sustainability Conference. It's really a reflection of our 12 schools who have taken a leadership position in sustainability, and sports sustainability more specifically, in the collegiate space. So when I came to the PAC-12 four years ago, Dave Newport is the sustainability director at Colorado, showed up on our doorstep and said, "Hey, I'm not sure if you knew this, but all 12 of our PAC-12 schools are members of the Green Sports Alliance. That's the only conference in the country that that's the case and you guys should really look at doing something in this space." So, we said, "Yeah, this is interesting." Myself and Gloria Nevarez, who formerly worked at the PAC-12, both have a passion for sustainability having grown up on the west coast. We sort of took Dave's lead. The PAC-12 at that point joined the Green Sports Alliance and started looking at what a plan could be for us to take a leadership position, really reflecting what our schools have already done. So we created an informal working group within our schools of sustainability officers and athletics department reps. They suggested having a first of its kind conference, so we did that last year in Sacramento at the LEED platinum Golden One Arena just ahead of the GSA annual conference, and that went very well. From there we started thinking about do we do this again and what could come next? So we'll have our second event this year in Boulder, July 12th. It's going to be a great group of on campus athletics reps, sustainability professionals and industry folks. We have some really great panels lined up including two former NBA players, in Jason Richardson and Earl Watson, two former gold medalists, in Arielle Gold who just won gold in snowboarding at the Olympics - he's a Colorado grad. And Mary Harvey, who's a former goalkeeper for the University of California, who's an Olympic gold medalist for the USA. She has also headed up, which is now a successful, 2026 World Cup North America endeavor, and she's heading up their sustainability areas. So, we're going to have some awesome panels. The folks that I mentioned will be augmented by programmers on our campuses that have submitted proposals in the areas of fan engagement, student athlete engagement in sustainability, and it's going to be a full day of great best practice sharing, networking and hopefully a lot of learning to move forward what is an important initiative. That's very exciting. Jamie, this is bringing together my two greatest passions in life, the environment and sports. So, I love what you guys are doing and really excited to be there on July 12th. Why have these professional athletes and gold medalists speak? What do you think that sustainability professionals or campus leaders can learn from these accomplished athletes? I think the philosophy of purpose plus sport, and the power of that, has never been more relevant than today with some of the societal challenges that we face. I think those in the sports industry, college or professional, understand that with privilege comes responsibility, right? And if you have the opportunity to make a positive difference, such as those that have had made their living in doing something like sports, then there is a kind of an obligation to find a way to give back. And I think the environment is very front and center. In a lot of respects, it's almost a bulletproof cause and those are sort of hard to find these days. It's one of those causes were there may be some people on the other side, but in general everybody's for a sustainable future. So I think those are the elements that sort of have gotten this into it and I think are there reasons why we're getting at least some attention, still very early days for us, but some attention from folks that want to be involved in it as an endeavor. At last year's conference you had basketball legend, Bill Walton, speaking at the event. If anybody has seen him speak, Bill is very passionate person. At the conference last year, Bill said, "Sustainability is good policy, good economics, and it's good for all of us." From a chief operating officer perspective, can you tell us why sustainability is good for business in the PAC-12? I'm very much a believer in this notion of both doing good and doing well. I think for a long time, issues of social based programs, whether it's sustainability or otherwise, have sort of been perceived as cost centers. Right? Here's something you spend money on and you measure it in the value of maybe the positive PR you get. But what I'm learning, and I think we'll have some interesting news around this at our conference, just to tease that a little bit, is the commercial value around this space in sustainability and purpose based sponsorship and engagement more broadly is robust. And so if you could find the right partners that align with your values, you can drive great commercial value to them and to you, whether that's endemic partners that might be specifically involved in sustainability, or just the DNA of some larger corporations that understand that this is important for the future. I think this has never been more relevant. And what we're seeing in our campuses is this is really market driven. There are students coming to our campuses are not saying, "Oh great, there's a recycling banner. Oh cool, we have solar panels." They are saying, "Hey, where are the solar panels? Where are the recycling bins. We expect this. This is our generation speaking." So part of this is really serving that market as well and aligning interest that way. Absolutely great points. And I think you can kind of see that happening in professional sports. Some of these leagues like the NHL a NASCAR are really stepping out and leading in sustainability. It's pretty clear that they understand the long-term business benefits of sustainability and visible sustainability programs. Is the PAC-12 conference looking towards those professional sports leagues and learning from what they're doing? I think certainly. I think they've taken the lead with their green platforms. I think we want to learn from what they've done and put it in the appropriate context for collegiate, which is similar yet different. But I think one of the advantages we have, honestly, is we have these great institutions that are leaders in research and thought leadership. And it's really about leveraging the power of our campuses around this because they tend to be where great ideas start. In our case we happen to have 12 elite research institutions all in the western part of the United States, in centers of innovation. We want to align what we do with their DNA. So we see that as a real opportunity, If anyone is interested in learning more or attending the PAC-12 Sustainability Conference, where can they go check that out? So just go a PAC-12sustainabilityconference.com or put it in Google and the website will come up. You'll get the full program there. You can register online. We have hotel partnerships in Boulder that are available and we hope to see everybody there. I think this is a really unique space and it's going to be another great conversation. Last year we had an oversubscribed room and Bill wowed them last year. He's a great ambassador. Bill won't be there this year, we're giving them a year off. But we do have some exciting speakers as I mentioned before, and look for a reasonably big announcement in the sustainability space at the conference as well. So I'll tease that up. That's exciting. Jamie, we like to end the interview with a final five questions. What is one piece of advice you would give sustainability leaders? Think big and expand who your partners could be. What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability? I think this notion that we can create a commercially viable platforms that bring together sustainability partners and athletics leagues and teams and schools. How about a book recommendation? Do you have one book you could recommend for sustainability professionals or other professionals? Well, this is a little bit off the radar and it's probably been read by most, but Cadillac Desert is one of my favorite books related to sustainability and the history of water in the western US. So that's a must read. What are some of your favorite resources or tools that you use that really help you in your work? I think it's just people. I'll go back to finding the right partners. Our best resources are our best thinkers and our best people, and that's why our campuses are so valuable to us. Whether it's student athletes, sustainability professionals, university athletic directors etc. And finally, we mentioned where people can go to learn about the conference, anywhere else you'd like to send people where they can learn more about you and the work that you're leading the PAC-12, We have a PAC-12.com website and I'd also encourage people to tune into our PAC-12 networks, which is linked from there. We have a lot of great stuff in terms of what we're involved in, including soon, a link to our sustainability platform. Jamie, I'm very much looking forward to the conference in July and that big announcement. I think everyone's excited about that now. It's so great to hear about the wonderful things the PAC-12 Conference is leading in sustainability. It's just so important to have that top-level support when committing to sustainability, so it's great to hear from you and hear about your passion. Thank you for making the world a better place, Jamie. Well, thank you. And thanks to people like yourself and Sustainable Nation for making this publicly available. We really need that contagion to catch on in this area even more to do well this way. Dave Newport Our next guest is Dave Newport. Dave launched the first US college sports sustainability activation with corporate partnership for the Florida Gators when he was the University of Florida's director of sustainability in 2002. Later he became director of the University of Colorado Boulder Environmental Center and founded the nation's first comprehensive NCAA Division One sports sustainability program, Ralphie's Green Stampede. Dave is also secretary of the Green Sports Alliance board of directors, former board secretary of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, an award winning publisher and editor and a former elected county commission board chairman. Dave Newport, thank you for joining us. It's great to have you on to chat about the PAC-12 Sustainability Conference, which we'll get to in a second, but first tell us a little bit about you. I gave an introduction on your professional life but tell us a little bit about your personal life and what led you to be doing the work you're doing today. Well, I guess most people in sustainability come from very diverse backgrounds in terms of their career and their interests, and I'm certainly no exception. I've been a little bit in the environmental arena, one way, shape or form, for a long time. I think personally, what led me to sports sustainability is the inevitable search for leverage. That is, what's the multiplier effect of the work you do? How many people does it affect? How many people can it potentially effect? And of course, sports, there's no bigger platform on the planet then sports. So moving into sustainability in sports was natural from that analytical point of view for me personally and professionally, but like yourself, Josh, I grew up playing sports. I love sports and love sustainability, so let's combine fun with work and boom, here we are. That's what got me here. That's great. And I understand it all kind of started down in Florida when you were at the University of Florida, director of sustainability, you launched the first US college sports sustainability activation with a corporate partnership for the Florida Gators. Tell us how that came about and how it all started for you. Yeah, that was cool. It was 2002, and I was getting the sustainability program running on the giant University of Florida campus. Had lot of support and a great president to work with, and one day said, "Hey, let's see what we can do in The Swamp, the Florida field. I mean, there's no bigger icon of American College football, then Florida Field and Florida Gators, and we can make a statement that would be great." I went to see the athletic director, Jeremy Foley, a legendary AD for Florida, and he liked it. He didn't see any downside to it, but what we'll do is due diligence as smart guys do. And so he pulled a lot of people and talked it all through. He said, "Yep, let’s go with it and we're going to reach out to our fanbase well in advance and let them know what's going on." So he put in place a great communications effort. The corporate partner at the time was a petroleum marketer. So talk about our odd bedfellows, but it was a petroleum marketing company that has a series of stores across the Southeast and the Midwest, and as far as Texas, called Kangaroo stores. They had a very progressive CEO who was trying to move basically out of the oil business and into the renewable energy business, believe it or not. So they wanted to do build some stores in the Gainesville area that were the first LEED certified convenience stores in the United States. They put in bio diesel, and things like that. They were promoting their greenness so it was a good fit. We pitched them and they liked it. We did a pilot on homecoming, at the homecoming banquet, which was huge, and then in the clubs and suites of Florida Field during the homecoming game. I walked around with the AD there and we just visited with the fans, alumni of the Gators, and asked them how they felt about all this stuff. We got 500 comments back and 499 of them were like, this is really cool. The grumpiest comment we got back was from this one old alumni gentlemen who said, "Yeah this is great. How come we haven't been doing this all along?" So that was the worst comment we got back, and after that everything was golden because athletics figured out, hey, there's no downside of this. People intuitively like it and once you get past the inevitable startup problems in implementation and all the operational stuff, which we solved, the fans like it. And so fan engagement is key and has been part of why we've done this right along, is that fan engagement element is very strong. Sure, that's great. Especially the college level it's mostly young folks and these are the people that are really passionate about the environment and that's great. And then eventually you left and now you're the director of the University of Colorado Boulder Environmental Center. And you founded the nation's first comprehensive NCAA Division One sports sustainability program - Ralphie's Green Stampede. Tell us a little bit about that program. So, at Florida we started the first zero waste program in the NCAA, and then when we got to Colorado we came first comprehensive one. So we do it in all sports, and it's not just a zero waste, it's zero carbon, zero water, zero net energy in new buildings, no pesticides, local food and a few other things I can't remember. We've got four LEED Platinum athletics facilities, which is half of the number of LEED platinum buildings on the entire campus. And we've got the lion's share, like 90 plus percent, of all of the installed solar on athletics facilities. So, the University of Colorado Athletic Department is the most sustainable department on campus, a fact that bugs the heck out of the environmental science people, but it is what it is. When I got to Colorado and told them both to the Florida story, it got me a meeting with the AD at the time, Mike Bohn.  He listened to what I had to say and he said, "Okay, we can do that here." It was about that easy. So I said, "Hey, you know, this was awful easy. How come you said yes so fast." And this I will carry with me the rest of my career. His response to me was, "Dave, what you don't understand is people don't come here on Saturday for football. They come here for community. And sustainability is all about community. So this will work." I will tell you that that is a lesson in how to engage fans and what is really going on in sports, that I now see everywhere. I checked it out, I worked on it and we've done research on it. And indeed, sports is a bonding moment for our fans. That's why you come. That's why everybody's singing the same songs, wear's the same shirts, looks at the same environments and all that kind of stuff. Because we are communal species and we want to be part of the community. So, that added to my repertoire of ways to approach this thing and leverage that fan engagement we were speaking of. That's great. And so now we have the PAC-12 Sustainability Conference coming up July 12th and that's going to be at the University of Colorado Boulder, is that right? Correct, and come on down. Absolutely. So, tell us about that conference. How did it come about and what can we expect? From the time when I started working at Florida and then Colorado in sports, many sports organizations have moved into this space, especially at the pro level and increasingly at the college level. I'm seeing the value of: A) Saving money through operational sustainability and B) Engaging your fans through this leadership. However, no athletic conference or sports network has moved into the space of promoting it as sort of a behavior and a lifestyle, as a conference and as a league, until the PAC-12 showed up. And Jamie's great leadership with PAC-12, and Larry Scott the commissioner, I've met with both of them, and Larry is 100 percent behind this because they get everything I just said. They get the savings, they get the leadership and the fan engagement. And so, they're now talking about this in game. They're talking about it as a conference. They're talking about it as a leadership position, as consistent with the Conference of Champions and other people have taken notice now. So, their leadership is really a game changer in terms of taking it to the next level and using the sports platform to engage fans to be more sustainable at home, work and play. That is the mission. Running a recycling system in your stadium is great. Using that as an influencer to influence those fans that show up for that community every Saturday, as part of being a good fan of their favorite team, to live the life and to embody that as part of their fandom. That's the strategy. That's what the sustainability conference is all about - How do we do our operational stuff better and how do we use it to influence fans? You guys have some famous accomplished athletes who are going to be there speaking as well. Professional athletes and Olympic athletes. Tell us a little bit about who will be there. It's a really good group. We have Arielle Gold, a professional snowboarder and one of our students AT UC Boulder, and part of our Protect Our Winters, and is touring the hallways of Capitol Hill and other places to talk about climate change and how it affects our lives and our sports. So she's obviously our millennial target athlete. Mary Harvey, who I have the pleasure of working alongside of the board of the Green Sports Alliance. She is just fabulous in terms of her overall acumen. She's won gold medals, World Cups, she played with Mia Hamm, she's worked for FIFA back in the day and now she's working with the World Cup, a group here for the United States that successfully landed the World Cup bid for North America in 2026. There's some other great athletes as well. Obviously Steve Lavin, a fabulous coach, ESPN commentator and a spokesman for UCLA. Jason Richardson, another NCAA Championship basketball player and retired from the NBA. Last year you may recall we had Bill Walton show up and give us a keynote and some life lessons, and that was entertaining. I think I've missed a couple, but there's obviously more detail at the PAC-12sustainabilityconference.com. And Jason Richardson retired and left the Golden State Warriors a little bit too early. He kind of missed out on all the fun. Oh boy, those guys are something else. So, Dave, some people may not see the connection, but I actually think there's a strong parallel between sports and leading sustainability, having passion and perseverance, cooperation, teamwork, team building and strategy. What do you think sustainability professionals who were leading sustainability can learn from these accomplished professional athletes? Yeah, I think you said it well, Josh. I think that's exactly right. One of the things that sustainability professionals do is basically giving credit away for everything, and being all about teamwork and not really trying to be a showboat or anything. They're much like hockey players. Where do you hear of an arrogant hockey player? Most of them were like, "Oh man, my team is so great," and all this stuff because they know it's all about teamwork. I think likewise, as you said, in sustainability it's the same thing. We want everyone to be part of it. And so when you do it inclusively and you bring people together to have a conversation about moving forward sustainably, then you bring in people that wouldn't normally be part of that team, and that's the key. That's how you grow the scope of what you're doing, by getting beyond the usual suspects and getting into folks where this may not be what they get out of bed thinking about every morning. But it's important to them when they have the opportunity to be influential in it. And so allowing for that influence, allowing for people who are doing other things, to be part of this and really bringing them in and getting those ideas, that's how you grow the team. That's how you move towards sustainability. And that is all a process. It is not an end game. Sustainability is not an end game. It's a process. The process is the product. And the process is inclusion and teamwork. Very well said, Dave. For any of our listeners who would like to attend the PAC-12 Sustainability Conference, where can they go to find out more and to sign up. So, PAC-12sustainabilityconference.com, or just Google it and it'll take you there. The website is up and running and accepting your reservations. Come on down. We've got all kinds of fun things to do in Boulder on the 11th and 12th of July. And then that weekend, the Grateful Dead are going to be in our stadium playing. So, come for a conference and stay for the concert. Sounds great. Dave, before we let you go we're going to end on our Final Five Questions. Are you ready? Five Questions. Who used to do that? It was the original Daily Show guy. Craig Kilborn. Funny thing about Craig Kilborn, who was actually a great athlete himself and played some college basketball. He's from Hastings, Minnesota, which is the same small town that I'm from. His mom was my middle school English teacher. I remember the first day of class I had with her, she had a picture of Craig on the back of the classroom and said, "That's my son. He's in radio and learn from him. He's a great communicator." Then about a year later I saw him on Sports Center for the first time and I was like, "I know that name somewhere." And it was him, Craig Kilborn. So, he's one of the few famous people to come out of my small town. He's funny and he was really good at it too. And when he left I thought, "he's going to be a hard act to follow." Yeah, he was great. So, what is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers? Don't think of anything. Have other people think about it and have it be their idea. What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability? How fast it's growing. I'm old, so I've observed the beginning and there was nobody. There was five of us doing this job when I started at Florida back in the nineties, and now I've lost count. What is one book you would recommend sustainability professionals read? If you don't read any other book in your entire life? You have to read Natural Capitalism. Excellent. And we had Hunter Lovins on as a guest a few weeks ago, so everyone can check out that episode of Sustainable Nation. What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in the work that you do? Being a member of AASHE and using their website and their member community is a daily thing. I'm looking at their email right now. I think AASHE, again, didn't exist when we started. Now it's booming and all the many people that I've never even heard of are now offering information and gaining information through their website, aashe.org. And finally, where can people go to learn more about you and the work that you're leading at the University of Colorado Boulder, Green Sports Alliance and/or the PAC-12 Sustainability Conference? I'm on LinkedIn. Let's just go with LinkedIn. They will find you on LinkedIn. Excellent. Dave, it's so great to learn about all the work you've been doing and how this sustainability in sports movement really got started all the way back in 2002. I very much look forward to seeing you in Boulder in July. Thank you so much for joining and thank you for making the world a better place. And thank you for hosting us today, Josh. Look forward to seeing you in boulder.  

As Senior Director of Green Innovation at NASCAR, Catherine directs development, adoption, and implementation of sustainability strategies across the number one spectator sport in the United States.  She integrates ESG initiatives across the industry with a program that in just under a decade has grown into one of the most visible sustainability programs in all of sports. Working with partners from the business sector, government and non-profit organizations, she also develops and coordinates programs with NASCAR sponsors and industry that advance sustainability objectives including food donation, recycling, clean water protection and the offsetting of carbon emissions for all of NASCAR's national series racing, employee air travel and quarterly partner summits. The Green Innovation platform provides both societal and business value, but also operates as a brand enhancing business. Catherine Joins Sustainable Nation to Discuss: Sustainability in professional sports NASCAR's commitment to GHG, energy and waste reduction Advice and recommendations for sustainability leaders Catherine's Final Five Question Responses: What is one piece of advice you would give other sustainability professionals that might help them in their careers? ​I would say be bold. That's commonly said, but I think it's important in sustainability. Be passionate, but be aware. And what I mean by being aware is ensure that you know who you're speaking to when you're speaking to them. Know your audience. When you're going in to pitch these ideas, know what drives them, what's going to result in them making an operational change or a culture change or whatever that may be. Just make sure that you're aware and you're humble in that approach. That is huge. I would also say that keeping the big picture in mind, always, has proven to be really helpful for me and taking one bite at a time. Do that well. Take that one bite. Make sure that you are crushing that one bite. Own it. Do your best to not spread yourself too thin because there's so much to be done, but identify where you can make the most impact and do it. ​What are you most excited about right now in the world of sustainability? ​Materials innovation, biomimicry, that all interests me a tremendously. More specifically though, how it can be advanced through sport. I'm excited to see how that rolls out. I'm excited to see how sport can be the catalyst for these new innovations, for these new technologies or these new mindsets, quite frankly. The opportunity to use sport to drive all of it. I think it's fascinating and I really feel like we're on the cusp of something so tremendous. The leagues are beginning to rally together. I worked directly with Omar Mitchell at the NHL and with Paul Hamlin at MLB, and those programs, they are doing amazing work as well. Coming together to look at how we can drive this impact, and we're so much more powerful if we all row in the same direction. I am probably most excited about how those relationships will continue to develop over time and what that will mean from an impact standpoint across the board when we look at these issues, whether it be social issues or environmental issues, economic issues, whatever that may be. That's really compelling and that's what gets me excited when I walk into this office everyday. What is one book you would recommend sustainability leaders read? I've thought about that one and actually spent probably more time than I should have looking at my bookcase. You can take it back to Silent Spring to know the foundation of why we're here. I think that is really, really important. Natural Capitalism, Hunter Lovins, and Amory's Reinventing Fire. I mean those are staples as well, but I gotta be honest. I find myself being more of a podcast person these days. So Greenbiz 350, How I Built This, not necessarily a sustainability podcast, but one that I just think from a business perspective is crazy inspiring for me. And then the Rachel Hollis podcast is one that I also listened to. As a female in the sports world, I think it's super important to continue to push yourself and inspire yourself and to surround yourself by other individuals like minded females specifically that are also doing the same thing. So yeah, this is probably the hardest question that you've asked me. I just have so many thoughts on things that folks should read and dive into. What are some of your favorite resources or tools that really help you in the work that you do? I've been fortunate to have a network of individuals that are just crazy knowledgeable in this space. I mentioned Allen Hershkowitz who has been a mentor for me for quite some time now. Joel Makower and the Greenbiz Executive Network, we are members of that organization. The Green Sports Alliance is doing tremendous work. Sport and Sustainability International is just kind of the global version of the Green Sports Alliance. Again, the networks that you have and learning from others that are also doing and have done this work for years and years and years. I find those to be the most valuable resources out there, and just taking the opportunity to stop and to listen and to learn and to be willing to take criticism and advice and suggestions, and raising your hand when you don't know because those networks are there to lift you up. That's been just a really amazing tool for me personally. Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and the work that you're leading at NASCAR? ​So my LinkedIn page has a plethora of different information on the program and work that I personally am doing outside of the organization that kind of tie back to overall sustainability efforts. You could also check out a NASCAR.comgreen, which is the website for all things NASCAR green. And then follow us on the Twitter at NASCAR Green or feel free to give me a follow up at Catherine Kummer. I definitely do my best and fore warn you that you'll probably get pictures of my kids too.

In the second episode from the National Institute of Building Sciences 2018 conference, Emma speaks with Ryan Colker, current director of the NIBS Consultative Council and the advisor to the president of the organization. They also discuss his involvement with the Green Sports Alliance and the importance of designing green buildings for a large audience. Relevant Links Golden1Center: Our theme music is “Molly Molly” by Blue Dot Sessions, used under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial license. More information at

Wendy Gordon never set out to become a tech entrepreneur. But, after several decades working with environmental organizations, she saw an opportunity. Wendy and her co-founder David Sand thought to themselves, “Wouldn't it be nice if there were a program where you could get reward points not just for spending money but for spending money wisely and for making other smart choices - like walking or biking to work, opting for renewable energy or a certified pre-owned iPad, or choosing clothes based on where and how they were made?” And so, they embarked on a journey to create PIPs Rewards. An experienced entrepreneur and pioneer in the conscious consumer movement, Wendy is founder and CEO of ‘Positive Impact Points' or PIPs Rewards. A trademarked brand of 3P Partners, a Certified B Corporation, PIPs leverages the power of points, smart tools and games to record and reward daily life choices that deliver personal and planetary benefit. PIPs won Best Game prize in NYC BigApps 2014, the nation's leading civic innovations competition. Wendy also co-founded Mothers & Others with Meryl Streep in 1989 and originated the Green Guide, which was acquired by National Geographic in 2007. She has co-authored numerous books, including the award-winning True Food: 8 Simple Steps to a Healthier You (National Geographic, 2009). She serves on multiple boards including Rainforest Alliance, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Green Sports Alliance and Eugene Lang/The New School.   Subscribe to the Bard MBA in Sustainability program to stay tuned in to our twice-monthly podcast series featuring sustainability leaders from the New York City area and across the planet.

Leading professional sports venues that serve all major leagues are now promoting more sustainable food options to fans, according to a new report by the Green Sports Alliance (GSA) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “Champions of Game Day Food” features 20 venues spanning North America that are serving healthier food choices and adopting more sustainable food practices behind the scenes to help advance smarter environmental practices throughout our food system. Today our guests will be Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, co-founder and president of the Green Sports Alliance, and Gabriel Krenza, NRDC Strategic Food Advisor and report co-author. @SportsAlliance @NRDC @Gabriel_Krenza

Keeping strong with the exploration of the meat industry in collaboration with Slow Food USA, on The Farm Report this week Erin Fairbanks is on the line with Gabriel Krenza of both the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Green Sports Alliance. Talking about his role in expanding and enhancing the NRDC’s food network and relationships as well as developing strategy for the sports industry on the issue of healthy food options for fans, Gabriel updates listeners on the current issues that the NRDC is working on in the food space plus weighs in on Walmart and Sam’s Club recent stance to encourage meat and egg suppliers to curb antibiotic use along with adopting more humane treatment of animals. Leah Garces of Compassion in World Farming joins the show sharing a detailed look at the Walmart news, stating that this headline comes in a year when retailers and restaurants across the United States are moving away from closed confinement systems such as gestation crates, battery cages, and veal crates and are adopting overarching farm animal welfare policies for the first time. Recently, food service giants such as Nestlé, Starbucks, and Aramark actually released similar policies. Rounding out the show, Erin speaks with Steve Pennings of Pennings Farm via our friends at EscapeMaker.com. Steve tells all the great things to do at his family’s farm this summer into the fall seasons from the garden center, cafe, petting zoo, to tasting some craft brews or their own cider! This program was brought to you by EscapeMaker.com. “What’s fascinating about the livestock industry is that it really does transcend so many different issues; whether it be land use, water quality, climate, also government subsidization and where different government resources go to support it.” [9:25] —Gabriel Krenza on The Farm Report “What we’re talking about doing in the US is a legislative minimum in the EU but that doesn’t mean that it’s not hard and that companies don’t need help and don’t need support getting to that minimum, and that’s what we’re here to do.” [39:53] —Leah Garces on The Farm Report